Are police dogs neutered?
NO, THEY ARE NOT. In 30 years I have never seen a single dog neutered. Police dogs need the hormones intact and testosterone is one of them. Please do not listen to those of the S/P mindset that believe EVERYTHING should be fixed.
Do police dog handlers take their K9 home every day? What happens when the officer isn't on duty?
All the handlers I have known took their dogs home, where they lived as a member of the family. The dogs are treated like any other house pet, except that they go to work with mom or dad every day.The saddest day in the dog's life is the day he's retired and has to stay home when the handler goes to work. Several handlers have told me stories of how the dog will sneak into the car or truck the handler drives to work, and refuse to get out. The dogs live to work.As you might expect, the dogs are very protective of the handler’s family, but that’s true of many family dogs. The dogs are very well-trained, and they have a good sense of how they're supposed to behave at home vs. at work.
What extra precautions or safety measures do law enforcement officers take in their own homes, given their experiences?
Before we had children (and while I was still new to law enforcement), I would place my duty weapon within arms reach of my bed. All other weapons were secured in a locked safe. I taught my wife how to use a handgun and a shotgun and discussed what we would do, should someone get into the house.Once we had children, all weapons in the home were secured all the time and once our children were old enough, I taught them gun safety as well. (Yes, I am from the South - but I still think gun safety/training is important, regardless).For a short period of time, we lived in a...'iffy' neighborhood, that was also within my precinct. We had a 4' chain link fence that surrounded the entire perimeter of the property and a professionally trained german shepherd inside the fence. Of all the home protection devices/items I have owned, a dog is the single best, especially a well trained dog. This was still in the 80s so fancy alarm / surveillance systems were outside the price range for most cops - but we never had a single issue in that neighborhood. Of course practicing with our dog in the front yard, probably didn't hurt
Is there any service done by police to escort someone to pick up an item from a person that may act out aggressively?
Yes. This happens all the time. It’s a common call for service which, in my area, is referred to as a “keep the peace” detail.Most often it involves one half of a romantic relationship gone wrong calling and asking for an officer to stand by while they pick up a few things. Sometimes it’s done because one of the parties is afraid of violence from the other half. Sometimes it’s because one of the parties is afraid of a false accusation of violence from the other half.In either case, we’re glad to do it. This is far better than getting the domestic disturbance or domestic battery call which, according to the caller, is likely to happen otherwise.In some cases, the keep the peace detail is a legal necessity. A person recently served with an order of protection or currently on bail for domestic battery will be legally barred from contacting the petitioner or alleged victim and from entering the property they used to share. However, an exception to this rule exists when the person in question brings along a police officer to supervise while he gets personal items out of the house.Some divorce orders require the presence of a police officer to be present when one of the parties to the divorce makes the final visit to the house to pick up the property awarded in the divorce. This one can get tedious, especially when there is a lot of furniture to be moved and items to be packed, and the person doesn’t bring along enough help to do the job. I've even had them show up without a truck, which makes for a long day.
Kids climbing my fence and teasing my dog what do I do?
I live in Louisiana and we have a year and half old female akita. She is a good dog if a bit over energetic. She is great with our 3 year old and the rest of our family and friends. We had a six ft. wood privacy fence put up around our yard in order for her to have plenty of room to run around and to make sure kids and other people weren't just strolling through out property. In the last 3 months there have been two occasions of kids between 8 and 12 using a ladder or just climbing up it enough to throw sticks at her, stick their hands down at her, and yell and tease her. Unfortunately there are a lot of families in our neighborhood and we have no idea who the children's parents are. I am going to put up Beware of Dog signs but will the be enough to keep myself as well as my dog safe if one of these children push her to far? From my point of view the children's parents need to take better care of their children and teach them about respecting other peoples property and teasing dogs no matter what kind is dangerous and wrong.
How do you keep someone away? Can the police help?
If you have a text on the phone, keep it. Bring it to the police. File harrassment charges. ESPECIALLY if there's a restraining order. This NEEDS to be done or it will go on forever until somebody gets hurt. Keep all the evidence you can. And yes, they can trace calls. You can also call the phone company and tell them you are receiving threatening calls and they'll place a trace on your phone. If you want more info on it shoot me an email and I'll look it up. Don't leave this girl alone. Make sure someone is always with her until this guy is locked up. Let us know what state you're in and we can tell you more because laws are different in each state.