On her first night in family life after retirement, police dog Anna was invited by her handler, Tsang Kit-ying, to rest on the bed. But Anna paced back and forth beside it, reluctant to climb up.
“She must have felt strange. The bed was so soft, unlike the hard floor of the police kennel,” said Tsang, a police constable.
Hong Kong’s police dog unit was established in 1949. Initially, it only had four German shepherds. Today, the unit has about 200 dogs.
Each police dog begins training at the age of one and generally serves until retirement at seven or eight.
“We attach great importance to their life after retirement,” said Erica Fan Chin-ting. She is the chief inspector of the Hong Kong Police Force’s police dog unit.
The police dog adoption programme has strict rules. Original handlers have priority. When handlers cannot adopt, members of the public have the chance to adopt instead.
After submitting applications, families are first interviewed by phone.
Then, they are invited to interact with the dogs at the unit’s headquarters. If suitable, a home visit follows before the dog is finally placed.
