Police dogs keep us safe. From sniffing out explosives and drugs to taking down bad guys, these pups are on duty and laying down their lives to protect their partners and communities. They manage to do it all while still looking absolutely adorable at the end of the day.
Any police officer can tell you some pretty strange stories from their time on the force. So it’s no wonder that police dogs have some pretty weird tales, themselves.
Here are seven weird stories about police dogs that might leave you laughing or scratching your head.
1. Fired For Being Too Nice
Not every dog is cut out for police work. Gavel the adorable pup was enrolled in a 16-month police dog training program in Australia when his handlers decided to fire him for the cutest reason ever–he was too nice.
The sociable dog just wasn’t mean enough to take on bad guys out in the field. But Gavel had a happy ending. He did what many people who can’t do anything else tend to do and went into politics.
Gavel was adopted by the Governor of Queensland and was given the title of Vice-Regal Dog.
2. Man Bites Dog, For Real
You’ve probably heard the old joke headline, “Man Bites Dog.” Well, it actually happened to a police dog that chased down a suspect.
Veda, a K9 police dog, tracked down a New Hampshire suspect who was hiding in a trailer. The man fought with the dog, biting her on the head.
Veda’s human partner jumped in and was also assaulted before police used a stun gun and brought the man into custody. His charges include assault on a K9 officer among other things.
Veda, meanwhile, has made a complete recovery and is back on the job. Hopefully she’ll be the only one doing the biting from now on.
3. Fight For Your Right To Tease Police Dogs
An Ohio police officer was investigating a car crash when he heard his police dog partner barking uncontrollably in his squad car. He went to check on the pup and saw a man who seemed drunk barking and hissing at the K9.
The man claimed, “The dog started it.” Turns out it doesn’t matter who started it, as teasing a police dog was in violation of a city ordinance, and the man was cited.
That’s not the end of it, though, as the man’s lawyer claimed the law violated his client’s freedom of speech. I’m not sure “speech” includes barking.
4. A Chihuahua On The Job
When you think of police dogs, you probably picture a tough German Shepherd Dog or Belgian Malinois, or maybe even a Pit Bull, but not all police work is about being strong and intimidating. Momo the Chihuahua proves that.
She passed her police dog test by sniffing out a person in only five minutes just using a hat for a clue to get the scent. In fact, it is her tiny body that makes her very valuable in Japan where she joined the police force. The country is prone to earthquakes, and Momo may be instrumental in detecting people trapped in rubble.
She’s showing the world what little pups are capable of.
5. Biting The Man He’s Named After
A K9 dog was named AC after Anderson Cooper, famous reporter and dog lover, who gave the pup a bullet-proof vest. So it may sound strange that AC would one day end up biting his namesake and dragging the reporter to the ground.
Don’t worry; it was for a good cause. Cooper went to meet the pup and to raise money for Spike’s K9 Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to providing police and military dogs with protective vests.
During his visit, Cooper was convinced to experience the power and discipline of a police dog first hand, so he suited up and let himself be used as a practice perp for AC, who was wearing the same vest that Cooper had given him.
I wish more people were willing to go so far to get K9s the equipment they need to stay safe.
6. Can I Get A Police Dog To Help Find My Drugs?
Dumb criminals are always good for a laugh. One man in Ohio found out the hard way that, though police dogs are there to protect you and your property, they are not available on request to track down your lost drugs.
The man called 911 asking for a police dog to help find a woman who had stolen heroin from him. Police arrived on the scene, though a dog wasn’t necessary to find the heroin that the man pulled out of his pocket, all caught on body cam.
This is what’s known as an open-and-shut case because the call and crime were all recorded. It’s just too bad he didn’t get to pet a police dog after all of that.
7. Police Canine Peach Gives Written Report
Police sometimes have to submit written accounts of crimes for use in court, so prosecutors in England were probably just doing their jobs when they asked for the officer on the scene of a crime, known as PC Peach, to give a report. The only problem was that PC Peach was a dog.
The officers at the West Midlands Police Department weren’t about to just let the mistake slide, however. They submitted a paw print-signed account from PC Peach that read, “I chase him. I bite him. Bad man. He tasty. Good boy. Good boy Peach.”
The prosecutors had no sense of humor about it, but the report was posted in the department and on the police Twitter account, where it spread around the world. Maybe next time prosecutors will check the species of the officer on the scene before they ask for a written account.
Have you heard any other weird police dog stories? Then let us know in the comments below!
