PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Gov. Ron DeSantis has always maintained that he “backs the blue.” Now he is backing the blue that stands on four legs. On June 10, the governor signed a bill that establishes care for the “retired warriors” of the K-9 force.
SB 226, or The Care for Retired Police Dogs bill, will help caregivers cover veterinary costs for retired police dogs. Housed under the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), funds for the program will be administered by a “non-profit organization dedicated to the care of retired police dogs.”
“We recognize that our law enforcement community must include recognition for our four-legged friends and we’re doing that here today, ” said the governor, surrounded by a cadre of law enforcement officers and K-9 handlers, at a press conference in Bunnell.
Caregivers will be eligible for up to $1,500 reimbursement for veterinary care per year. The bill allocates from the state budget $300,000 this year and is administered through “nonprofits dedicated to the care of retired police dogs,” DeSantis said.
One such non-profit, Emma Loves K-9s, will be able to allocate funds to help the dogs “live good retirements.” Founder Emma Stanford, a Flagler County resident, told the crowd she “fell in love with the dogs” when she saw them in action.
“As soon as I learned about the lack of funding for retired police dogs, I wanted Emma Loves K-9s to assist their handlers with food and medical expenses,” Stanford said. ”The retired dogs have served us and our communities, and I believe that they deserve the best possible care.”
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly told attendees that a dog with no serious issues will cost its owners approximately $3,000 per year in food and veterinary costs.
“Last year, we implemented supporting our retired canines, but that is the exception, and this bill will correct that and take the burden off the handlers, Staly said. “Not only are they partners for life, but they become family members.”
Last year, DeSantis signed SB388 to support canines injured in the line of duty by giving them transportation when they needed emergency care.
“This allowed ambulances and EMTs to transport and care for police canines that have been injured while protecting our communities to ensure that they can get care as quickly as possible,” the governor said of last year’s bill.
The governor said he saw how valuable canines were while serving in Iraq.
“We dealt with them when I was active duty and really benefited by them being in places like Iraq,” he said. “We also saw how the service dogs can help veterans recover from things like PTSD.”
DeSantis said he introduced a bill in Congress linking veterans with service dogs, but it did not pass until he had left Washington. The program was important to veterans returning with “invisible wounds of war,” he said.
“You can’t just keep pumping people with drugs ... and think that’s the solution, because for a lot of people that does not work.” he said. “Now [the program] is widely accepted as something that merits support.”
Dogs want to be around their handlers, DeSantis said, because the handler is the only one the dog knows. He said he didn’t want handlers to be deterred from keeping the dogs when they retire because of the expenses involved.
“... Especially a handler who has more than one [retired] K-9 ... it gets expensive and even cost-prohibitive for a lot of people. So in Florida, we’re going to step up and provide support for these K-9s.”
DeSantis said the future is bright for these retired furry officers.
“I think you’re going to see people lining up to be able to adopt these guys and they’re gonna be able to live good retirements because they earned it,” the governor said.
