Stafford considers medical coverage for retired K9s [The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.]

Mar. 28—When police or fire dogs retire from service in Stafford County, they go to live with their handlers who are responsible for providing everything the canines need, including medical care.

Stafford County officials may change that to make sure employees, "not just in a human form but in the animal form," get the treatment they deserve, said Board of Supervisors member Tinesha Allen.

"They put their lives on the line, whether it's rescuing someone from the fire standpoint or detecting something or going after criminals," she said, adding that at "the end of their lives," they shouldn't have to suffer and their owners shouldn't have to pay out of pocket.

Last fall, Allen asked staff to look into a health insurance policy to cover the dogs, but the issue goes back to Supervisor Crystal Vanuch's first year on the board in 2020. She remembered hearing about a Sheriff's Office retired K9 that needed a $10,000 surgery and that his handler paid for it.

She said board members talked to the sheriff about it who said the department would take care of it.

"Then we kind of forgot about it," Vanuch said.

Fire and rescue officials brought it up again last year with Allen, and Fire Marshall Ben Gouldman gave a presentation to the board last week.

The supervisors will review the matter on Tuesday, April 2, and decide if they'll include the coverage in the county budget for FY 25.

Board members agreed verbally to have staff add to the budget a medical insurance plan with a total cost of $4,368 to cover the county's three retired dogs. They include Lobo and Maui, police dogs that specialized in detecting any type of drug, and Duchess, an arson canine that solved more than 50 cases in central and Northern Virginia from 2015 to 2022.

Duchess was assigned to Gouldman, who said the insurance plan would cover routine care, including vaccinations, wellness checks, dental cleanings and needed tests.

Vanuch also suggested putting $10,000 in a separate fund that would pay for surgeries or other expenses not covered by the plan. None of her fellow members disagreed with that, but the board will vote on the matter Tuesday.

Supervisor Darrell English said he'd rather see the coverage included in the budgets for the Sheriff's Office or Fire and Rescue rather than the county's general expenses.

Supervisor Deuntay Diggs, a lieutenant with the Stafford Sheriff's Office, said he doesn't have any animals and sees the way that in "society as a whole, we focus on animals more than we do people, right?"

Diggs said he also advocates for county employees, and "I look at the canines as our employees."

Supervisor Monica Gary expressed her gratitude for the police and fire dogs and said she wants to make sure the care of retired canines isn't a burden to their owners.

"But hopefully we can find extra money for our schools and our children as well," she said.

Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425

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