A bill aimed at providing funding for retired police dogs recently passed its first House committee.Once a K-9 retires, the medical bills can be expensive. And, Rep. Dave Kerner’s (D-Lake Worth) bill aims to relieve the caregivers of the retired law enforcement dogs of that financial burden.
“It is capped at $1,500 per year per handler, and $300,000 a year for the entire program,” he said, during a recent House Criminal Justice Subcommittee meeting.
And, Rep. Ray Pilon (R-Sarasota) says he’s on board with the effort.
“As a retired deputy and a former certified K-9 handler and trainer and having had one of these experiences of having a dog retired and live with me at home, this is an absolutely fantastic bill,” said Pilon. “It really means a lot to those handlers and their families and more so to those K-9s who have dedicated their lives to actually protect their handlers and the general public. I supported it last year. I hope that we can get it all the way through.”
For the past three years, Kerner has filed the bill, but it’s always died in the committee process.
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