Animal Heroes: Officers On 4 Legs
K-9 Units
The First Responders Foundation assists with K-9 Units in Nebraska and Iowa. Your donations will help support training for K-9 Officers and Canines, and will assist with care for retired canine officers.
K-9’s are specially trained dogs that work and live with law enforcement officers.
K-9’s assist first responders by helping:
- Search for dangerous criminals
- Help find missing persons
- Search for illegal drugs
- Detect hidden contraband
- Protect officers exposure to life threatening situations
- Deter criminal activity
K-9s training is intense:
- At 14-24 months old, dogs with basic obedience training are ready to join the force
- Dogs are trained for 3-4 months, 5 days a week, to teach them patrol work and narcotics detection.
- The dogs are then required to pass a mandatory state police dog certification.
- Training continues at least once a week throughout a dog’s career and they must pass a yearly certification.
- K-9 Officers must learn new techniques for working with canines, including dog psychology, canine case law, and emergency medical treatment for canines.
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For more information on K-9 Units, visit these department websites
https://police.cityofomaha.org/community-involvement/donations/k-9-unit
https://www.councilbluffs-ia.gov/469/Canine-Unit
https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/police/canine/index.htm
Meet Alley the Arson Dog
The Omaha Fire Department has a special firefighter on 4 legs, Alley, the Arson Dog. The First Responders Foundation is honored to have a fund that helps provide for Alley’s training and care. The fund supports Alley’s training, training aids and certificates, her veterinary care and food. Your donation is one great way to show your support for Alley and the program.
Arson Dogs help keep our community and firefighters safe. As accelerant sniffers, they are able to detect even minute amounts of accelerants used to start fires. That helps fire investigators determine if a person caused the fire with intent to harm. Arson dogs work with investigators to find the best places to pull sample materials for lab testing. Their nose knows!
Arson Dogs help keep our community and firefighters safe.
- Dogs’ sense of smell is approximately 40 times greater than humans. When trained as accelerant sniffers, they are able to detect even minute amounts of accelerants used to start fires.
- Help fire investigators determine if a person caused the fire with intent to harm.
- Arson dogs work with investigators to find the best places to pull sample materials for lab testing.
- Help increase conviction rates of arsonists
- Help decrease arson fires
- Help educate the public on the importance of fire safety.
These dogs can also pave the way for a significant decrease in arson fires, in some cases up to 50% by helping to increase conviction rates and deter arsonists.
Alley lives and works with her handler, Omaha Fire Investigator David Sobotka. Alley is food motivated, meaning she “works” or trains every day in order to be fed. Her “work” keeps her sharp and ready for whenever she is needed for fire investigations.
Last year there were 331 total fire-related investigations, and 66 were classified as arson.
Mounted Patrol
The First Responders Foundation helps fund the purchase of horses for Mounted Patrol and assists with necessary equipment. Your donation will help purchase and support Mounted Patrol Units.
What Mounted Patrol Horses Do:
- Regular patrol
- Citizen contacts
- Traffic and crowd control
- Search and rescue
- Parking enforcement
- Parades
- Formal events
Mounted Patrol horses give law enforcement a new “perspective” in crowd control by offering added height and visibility. The horses allow the officers to observe a wider area and allow people in the area to see the officers. This helps people find officers when needed and helps deter crime.
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