Category: Dogs With Jobs

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From Being A Neglected Dog To ASCPA’s 2024 Dog Of The Year: Meet Harper The Black Lab Mix

Sometimes, life will take you places you don’t expect, but totally deserve.

We can say the same for Harper when her life took a 180 degree turn – from being a neglected dog rescued by an animal shelter, to being a disaster search dog, and now to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Dog Of The Year.

The ASPCA unveiled Harper as its 2024 Humane Awards Dog Of The Year recipient on September 18 along with this year’s other heroic winners.

As this year’s Dog Of The Year award recipient, ASPCA shares what made Harper the cream of the crop.

According to ASPCA, Harper is a Black Labrador mix and was one of the 22 dogs confiscated in a hoarding and neglect case years ago.

He was initially placed with the Humane Society of the Black Hills in South Dakota before being accepted into the Search Dog Foundation (SDF)’s program on January 2020.

ASPCA revealed that SDF is “an organization whose mission is to strengthen disaster response in America by rescuing and recruiting dogs and partnering them with firefighters and other first responders to find people buried alive in the wreckage of disasters.“

They further revealed that SDF determined that among the 22 dogs rescued from neglect, Harper “showed great potential for becoming a disaster search dog.“

Harper then became a candidate in the pilot program to train to become a Human Remains Detection (HRD) canines for California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2).

According to ASPCA, “CA-TF2 is the West Coast’s only internationally deployable task force comprised of physicians, HAZMAT specialists, rescue specialists and canine search specialists.“

And harper was one of the three HRD canines for the task force and she graduated with flying colors on May of 2021.

After graduation, Harper was paired with firefighter Edward Ruiz of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

CA-TF2, including Harper and Ruiz, trained diligently until they achieved FEMA certification on July 2022.

After Harper’s certification as a disaster search canine in 2022, she and Ruiz have been helping save lives and bringing closure to loved ones.

ASPCA reveals that the pair have been deployed multiple times, including to Hurricane Ian in Florida in 2022 and more recently to the Lahaina fire in Hawaii.

“Alongside nearly 40 other canine teams, they searched through ash and debris for those lost in the devastating wildfire that swept through the Lahaina community on Aug. 8, 2023,” ASPCA wrote.

Hoomans saw the potential Harper had in her all those years ago and she has proved to them, time and time again, that she is a talented, dedicated, and hardworking dog capable of helping save lives.

And for her countless contributions, the ASPCA honored her with an award only the goodest of girls and boys deserve – the ASPCA Dog Of The Year award.

Matt Bershadker, President and CEO of the ASPCA said, “Our 2024 ASPCA Humane Award honorees are supporting vulnerable animals and elevating critical protections across the country, exemplifying the ASPCA’s vision of a compassionate nation where all animals are treated with respect and kindness.”

“From working on the frontlines of disasters, to advocating on behalf of animals who are unable to do so for themselves, this year’s Humane Award recipients are heroes and we are grateful for their service,” he added.

The 2024 Humane Awards by the ASPCA honors “both people and animal heroes from across the country who have gone above and beyond to bring attention to animal welfare and better the lives of those around them.”

Harper, along with other honorees, will be formally celebrated for their outstanding contributions at a luncheon in New York City on Thursday, October 10.

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Police Scotland Pays Tribute To Police Dog Who Sniffed Out Drugs Worth $12M Throughout Career

Tributes have been paid to police dog Gizmo, who was based at Loch Ryan, Scotland, after passing away on August 08 after a period of illness.

Police Scotland Dumfries & Galloway announced the police dog’s passing on Tuesday, September 24.

According to the Police Divisions, the 11-year-old Sprocker Spaniel had a 10-year career as a police dog.

And during Gizmo’s time as a police dog, he was able to sniff out drugs worth $12 million in the area and across the country.

Aside from sniffing out drugs, Gizmo also worked at major events such as state visits, music events, and sporting events.

Gizmo was first introduced by Police Scotland on Christmas in 2014 when he just joined the border policing team at Loch Ryan Port.

In 2015, Gizmo became the successor of another amazing police dog, Buster. Buster retired after a successful career that lasted for 7 years. During Buster’s time as a police dog, he was able to detect over $7 million worth of drugs in Scotland.

In a June 2015 Facebook post, Police Scotland wrote, “One year old Gizmo is taking over Buster’s search duties – hunting for weapons, drugs, cash, stolen items and explosives. He learnt a lot from Buster in the day they spent working together.”

And after learning from the best, Gizmo went on to become one of, if not the most talented, police dog in Scotland.

In 2022 alone, Gizmo, after working with Border Police, was able to find cannabis with an estimated street value of $1.5 million at the seaports in a village in Scotland called Cairnryan.

Detective Sergeant David Hanlon said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Police Dog Gizmo, who was a fundamental part of our team.”

“Police dogs are a crucial support in our work to keep our communities safe and deter crime.”

“Gizmo was a valued colleague, and he will be sadly missed, especially by his former handler.”

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Police Dog Steals Co-worker’s Lunch But Doesn’t Face Any Charges Because He’s Too Cute

We guess criminals also come in all shapes and sizes – apparently, some have cute faces and wagging tails!

And K9 Ice of the Wyandotte Police Department (WPD) in Michigan is certainly one of the few out there with a cute face and a wagging tail who go out of their way to commit a crime, inside the workplace, nonetheless!

“Stealing is not only a crime but it is morally wrong too. Some jobs, like that of being a police officer, require you to take an oath prior to starting. Within the officer’s sworn oath is the promise to protect person’s property,” the Wyandotte Police Department wrote in a Facebook post.

The Wyandotte Police Department proceeds to explain that one of their officer, Officer Barwig, was eating lunch in the breakroom when he was called to assist someone in the WPD jail.

“He quickly jumped into service, leaving his half eaten lunch on the table,” WPD recounts the story.

“A short while later Barwig and another officer returned to the breakroom only to find Ofc. Ice leisurely strolling out of the room licking his chops. Barwig’s entire lunch was gone….disappeared, vanished!”

WPD reveals that K9 Ice invoked his fifth amendment right to remain silent, but is quite frankly not cooperating with the Police Department’s investigation.

Furthermore, WPD reveals that K9 Ice isn’t very much a good boy, especially when food is involved. They wrote, “He has a history of rummaging through trash cans that are within his reach. There have been several other accusations of him taking food right from coworker’s hands as they walk by.”

The incident happened on January 2023 but it is once again going viral after online users found the criminal, K9 Ice’s, crime and mugshot a little too adorable. Talk about pretty privilege, huh?

The public rallied behind K9 Ice and truly believed him to be innocent. One user wrote, “There is no evidence! Last I heard, “licking chops” is not a crime!” Another user said, “Innocent! Lunch was not clearly marked with officers name or badge #.”

While another user wrote “I just want to say that he is also guilty of stealing my heart. He is one smooth operator. Look at that face, good luck getting a conviction! You guys are out to lunch.”

In an update on K9 Ice’s case, WPD revealed that “dozens of attorneys” have offered to defend the police dog Pro Bono for his crime.

“We have been threatened with massive protests if we move forward with our investigation and/or charges,” the Police Department wrote.

WPD also reveals that the public just doesn’t believe K9 Ice to be guilty and that no video of him stealing any of his co-workers food has been produced.

“That being said Ofc Ice will not face any internal discipline or criminal charges,” the Police Department concluded.

Aside from the charges being dropped, K9 also received a custom-made sandwich from one of his local supporters “because they felt like he wasn’t being fed enough.”

After the charges were dropped and the case was closed, the public still demanded updates about the “innocent” police officer.

One user wrote, “I vote for regular updates from Ofc Ice! The public needs to be aware of the shenanigans he has to deal with, like being falsely accused!”