LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles City Council June 4 declined to accept a donation of two police service dogs, and sent the request back to committee after one council member raised concerns about the company that provided the animals.
“I don’t have a problem with donating dogs to the police. That’s not an issue,” Councilman Bob Blumenfield said at Tuesday’s meeting. “But what I’m concerned about is that this company, called the Adlerhorst International, is the name of the Nazi bunker used by Adolf Hitler during World War II.”
A representative for Adlerhorst International did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Mr. Blumenfield said he searched online to see if the company’s name had another meaning, which he could not find.
“This company is a company that is glorifying Hitler’s bunker, and it’s a company that is dealing with German Shepherds, of which there’s all that history with the Holocaust,” Mr. Blumenfield said.
He added, “I don’t know that’s the intent of this company, but in reality it’s a creepy name that shouldn’t really be associated with a company like this. They’ve had plenty of time to deal with it, and I can’t support doing business with a company that’s glorifying Hitler’s bunker.”
Mr. Blumenfield, with the support of his colleagues, asked the Los Angeles Police Foundation to report on where the dogs come from. The donation was sent back to the council’s Public Safety Committee.
In March, the Board of Police Commissioners approved a transmittal for the acceptance of two dogs—with a value of $26,900—for Metropolitan Division’s K-9 Platoon. According to the department, the two dogs would replace another pair who have retired out of the program due to old age and health concerns.
The L.A. Police Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides funding and support to the LAPD. Donations from the foundation have helped the department update technology and conduct specialized training.
An invoice that the department transmitted to the council noted that the dogs would be coming from Adlerhorst International, located at 3951 Vernon Avenue in Jurupa Valley.
In 2021, Vice News reported on the company, which it described as one of the “biggest K-9 training facilities in the country, supplying dogs for more than 300 police agencies.”
Adlerhorst, which means “Eagle’s Nest” in German, was a World War II bunker complex built to hide Hitler in the Bavarian Alps. The location also served as Hitler’s command post in December 1944 and January 1945.
Vice reported that David Reaver, founder and pioneering police K-9 trainer, had been sued dozens of times related to alleged injuries caused by the dogs that come from his facility. Mr. Reaver has denied allegations of racism in the past, saying the company’s name comes from a German kennel where he bought a dog in the 1960s. He launched his company in 1976.
