Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
New K-9 bills would create retirement fund, allow for life-saving care
"Dakota's Law" would fund K-9 retirements, while another bill would strengthen "Nero's Law."
Koda, Rush, Kitt, and Frankie – all of them were K-9 police dogs who lost their lives while serving in Massachusetts. Koda and Rush suffered medical emergencies due to their duties, and Kitt and Frankie were shot.
“We have a saying in the SWAT K-9 community, ‘paws before boots,’” Massachusetts State Police Sgt. David Stucenski said. “It really shows that these guys are the first ones in to these dangerous situations, and I think they deserve the treatment that we would get if we were injured.”
The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security heard testimony from three K-9 handlers and advocates on Monday on a bill to allow for advanced life support for injured police dogs and one to establish a fund for the care of retired police dogs. State Rep. Steven George Xiarhos, himself a former law enforcement officer, sponsored both bills.
Improving medical care for K9s
Stucenski, who testified in front of legislators on Monday, was Frankie’s handler when the dog was shot and killed in 2022.
Nero’s Law, legislation originally presented by Xiarhos, allows for police dogs to be transported in ambulances to receive life-saving care. It passed three months before Frankie was shot, allowing him to be transported, Stucenski said.
Advertisement:
However, Nero’s Law does not authorize first responders to give injured police dogs advanced care while they undergo transport. This new bill looks to lift that restriction.
H.2423 changes the language in Nero’s Law from “nothing in this section shall authorize the provision of advanced life support care to a police dog” to “nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit” advanced life-saving care.
“This law has to be passed because of the limitations that was given to K-9 Frankie in the back of that ambulance,” Stucenski told legislators. He said it’s important to ensure a “higher level of care while they’re en route.”
A retirement fund for police dogs
Rehoboth police offer David Aguiar and his K-9 Edo testified in favor of a retirement fund for law enforcement’s “partners.”
Advertisement:
“Police K-9s are first responders, also,” Aguiar said. “They protect and save countless lives, without a complaint or a whimper.”
The retirement fund would be funded by grants and gifts appropriated by legislators, which would then be used to “make grants to non-profit institutions located within the commonwealth for the purpose of providing care and medical services to retired police dogs.”
The bill is being dubbed “Dakota’s Law,” named for a K-9 who suffered PTSD following the Boston Marathon bombing. His experience inspired a nonprofit in Seekonk aimed at helping K9 dogs with PTSD and a film, “Healing Dakota.”
Uxbridge police officer Thomas Stockwell testified in favor of both bills on Monday, speaking with his K-9 Bear by his side.
Stockwell told legislators about a rear-end car accident that totaled his car. He walked away with minor injuries, but Bear needed veterinary care.
“In 2016, there was no policies that allowed police work dogs to receive treatment from EMS or fire or even be transported by an ambulance if need be,” he said.
Nero’s Law changed that. But, Stockwell said, “I would like to see that we go that next step where he can get advanced life-saving training for these animals.”
Advertisement:
Now, Bear is nearing retirement. He will likely join Stockwell’s family after leaving the police department.
“That’s why Dakota’s law is so important,” Xiarhos said at the committee hearing, “to let the commonwealth and nonprofits come together to help take care of these dogs for as long as they live.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com