HAGERSTOWN, MD - In an effort to save money, the state of Maryland has started to breed their own patrol dogs.
Their first litter of Belgian Malanois dogs, similar to German Shepherds, was born December 14th, 2010.
The 7 puppies born are being raised by the K-9 Unit of the Maryland Division of Corrections.
Raising each dog costs about $700, but buying a fully-trained patrol dog can cost the state up to $10,000 each.
By breeding their own dogs, the MD Division of Corrections can replace their retiring dogs while saving the state thousands of dollars.
"The budgets being what they are nowadays we had to come up with inventive ways of replacing our older and retiring dogs with new dogs," says Captain Mark Flynn, the Assistance Commander of the Maryland Division of Corrections K-9 Unit.
Flynn says the dogs are an extremely valuable asset to their street teams and correctional facilities.
"Mostly they provide a huge psychological deterrent," says Flynn. "Just the presence of a police dog is just as valuable as 20 to 30 officers in the same area."
The Maryland Correctional Institute in Hagerstown is holding a puppy-naming contest next Saturday, March 5th.
Their first litter of Belgian Malanois dogs, similar to German Shepherds, was born December 14th, 2010.
The 7 puppies born are being raised by the K-9 Unit of the Maryland Division of Corrections.
Raising each dog costs about $700, but buying a fully-trained patrol dog can cost the state up to $10,000 each.
By breeding their own dogs, the MD Division of Corrections can replace their retiring dogs while saving the state thousands of dollars.
"The budgets being what they are nowadays we had to come up with inventive ways of replacing our older and retiring dogs with new dogs," says Captain Mark Flynn, the Assistance Commander of the Maryland Division of Corrections K-9 Unit.
Flynn says the dogs are an extremely valuable asset to their street teams and correctional facilities.
"Mostly they provide a huge psychological deterrent," says Flynn. "Just the presence of a police dog is just as valuable as 20 to 30 officers in the same area."
The Maryland Correctional Institute in Hagerstown is holding a puppy-naming contest next Saturday, March 5th.
Comments
OK, so what are the OFA scores on the parents, or were they PennHip'd? Vet check and genetic clearances are NOT the same thing.
Jennifer T.
March 3, 2011 at 12:41 pm
I can assure Ms Tomlinson that all MD DOC dogs are regularly vetted by the best quality Veterinarians in the state. In addition, the Two Parents of the puppies in the story come from LONG working dog lines of certified and registered Belgian Malinois. The parents of the pups were chosen because of their excellent health, temperament and have vet certified hips and eyes. Any of the pups not making the program have already been spoken for by MULTIPLE allied police agencies. So as you can see Ms Tomlinson, your "hope" is realized, the DOC K-9 Unit knows exactly what they are doing. With ten other Unit bred working dogs already in the field, I would say the Unit's success should be very reassuring to you.
Mark F.
February 26, 2011 at 4:02 am
I hope they actually KNOW what they are doing. Breeding quality dogs is more than putting a male and a female together. These dogs should have been OFA tested for hip displasia and CERF'd for eye problems before being bred. Won't do anyone any good to breed puppies who will be physically broken down by the time they are three years old because the breeders had no education. And the ones that DON'T make the grade as patrol dogs? They will be temperamentally unsuitable for most pet households. A well bred working dog NEEDS to work, and will not make a good pet. And it's spelled "malinois".
Jennifer T.
February 26, 2011 at 12:27 am
