SVPCA Exits Saginaw Police K9 Program Over Concerns for Dogs’ Health
A long time collaboration between the Saginaw Vallaey Police Canine Association (SVPCA) and the Saginaw Police Department is coming to an end. The organization has decided to exit the Saginaw Police Department’s K-9 program.
The SVPCA has worked with the department for several years, providing Saginaw police with trained dogs to do police work in a variety of ways, including drug and firearm detection, locating missing persons or tracking criminal suspects. However, the SVPCA says in a statement released to the Saginaw City Council that they feel the needs of the K-9’s health and well being have not been adequately met over the past couple years, despite repeated requests to the department to ensure the dogs were receiving adequate health care. They say their concerns for the dogs are not being taken seriously.
Two previous Saginaw K-9’s, Ares and Denver, were paid for with donations from the SVPCA. After health problems arose with K9 Denver earlier this year, which the SVPCA says still have not been resolved, the organization sought to ensure the health of incoming dogs by requiring a clean bill of health before purchase, something they claim was not completed for the new K9 Krixus. At the Monday, July 11 City Council meeting, the council approved the use of city funds to purchase and train Krixus without completing the health checklist. The SVPCA says that they are withholding funds for K9 Krixus until all the items on their clean bill of health are fulfilled.
The SVPCA has asked for the name of a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to hold the funds for the Saginaw Police K9s and a copy of their IRS tax exempt determination letter by August 19. If the information isn’t provided by that date, the Saginaw Police K9 program will forfeit the funds the SVPCA holds for them and will then be placed in the organization’s general and retired K9 fund.