They locate survivors in collapsed buildings, track down fugitives, foil drugs and explosives smugglers, and help control rowdy crowds. All in exchange for food and lodging — and an occasional pat on the head.
However, when retirement time comes, state care ends for the dogs and horses that serve in Poland’s Police, Border Guard and Fire Service. They are given away, with no safeguards for their future welfare.
Following appeals from concerned service members, the Polish Ministry of the Interior has proposed new legislation that would give these animals an official status, and paid retirement to help cover the often costly care bills their new owners face.
Polish Minister of the Interior Mariusz Kaminski described the draft law as a “moral obligation” that should get unanimous backing when presented in the Polish parliament for approval later this year.
“More than one human life has been saved, more than one dangerous criminal caught thanks to the animals in service,” he said last month.
The new law would affect about 1,200 dogs and more than 60 horses in service.
Each year, about 10 percent of the animals are retired, the ministry has said.
The bill would confirm the unwritten rule that the animals’ handlers have priority in keeping them before they are offered up for adoption.
However, more importantly, it would extend state responsibility for the animals into their retirement time and secure financial support for the owners.
In Warsaw, mounted police officer Dariusz Malkowski said he would have to pay the stabling fees for his 13-year-old black gelding Rywal if he were to keep him after retirement.
A stable box near Warsaw can cost about 2,500 zlotys (US$635) a month. The average pretax monthly salary in Poland is about 5,500 zlotys.
On patrol with Malkowski was Sergeant Katarzyna Kuczynska, riding 13-year-old Romeo II, or Romek, who can identify Kuczynska by her voice.
“These animals have worked for the state, they have done their jobs well and they should be entitled to healthcare and proper retirement — on green pastures in the case of horses,” Kuczynska said.
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