Texas — Today is National Police K-9 Day, observed each year on September 1 to honor police dogs and the handlers who work beside them.
K-9 officers track suspects, locate missing people, detect narcotics and explosives, and stand between their partners and danger. Many have been injured or killed in the line of duty.
The Texas Department of Public Safety houses one of the nation’s largest state K-9 programs, with about 85 handlers and teams trained in narcotics detection, explosives detection, and tracking. Cities, counties, school districts, and sheriff’s offices across Texas also rely on working dogs every day.
These dogs live with their handlers. They train together, answer calls together, and often retire into the same family that worked them.
Today is also a day to remember K-9s who have died in the line of duty and those who served until retirement.
Thank you to every K-9 and every handler keeping Texas safer.