More than 200 police K9s work to protect the peace and security of Massachusetts communities each day. However, under current law, police dogs are unable to receive immediate medical care and transport by ambulance. SB 2423 and HB 4230 allow for EMT care and transportation of police dogs injured in the line of duty.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
All Massachusetts residents are encouraged to contact the Senate Ways and Means Committee and Joint Health Care Finance Committee Chairs and request immediate favorable release of SB 2423 and HB 4230. You can share the following points.
- Training a police K9 can take 8–12 months before the dog is even placed with a handler to train for another year as a team.
- Municipalities make a substantial investment in acquiring a police K9.
- Efforts to ensure that specialized care is provided to protect the wellbeing of these dogs is incredibly important.
- In addition to authorizing EMTs to provide basic life support measures, safe canine handling and proper decontamination procedures would be followed.
Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Sen. Rodrigues at (617) 722-1481 or Michael.Rodrigues@masenate.gov
Senate Chair, Joint Health Care Finance Committee, Sen. Friedman at (617) 722-1432 or Cindy.Friedman@masenate.gov
House Vice-Chair, Joint Health Care Finance Committee, Rep. Cullinane at (617) 722-2430 or Daniel.Cullinane@mahouse.gov
For more information on this or other legislative issues in Massachusetts, contact AKC’s Government Relations Department at 919-816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org; or MassFed at info@massfeddogs.org.