TX Bill Passes To Require Cop Canine Training

NewsChannel 10
Apr. 22, 2015

In recent years, there have been stories of shootings by police officers in Texas and across the country.

A House Bill 593 has the potential to keep that from happening to your pet and it's already moving through Texas legislature.

House members gave preliminary approval to the bill that would make it mandatory for Texas officers to go through canine encounter training.

This comes after a young Fort Worth officer fatally shot a border collie last year, the officer was afraid of dogs and never had training to deal with one out in the field.

"I know how my dogs behave, other people can be intimidated if they aren't familiar with my dog specifically or dogs in general and I'd hate for something to happen to my dog because somebody didn't know," says dog owner, Kat Lowry.

Under the bill, officers would have to complete at least four hours of dog encounter training, including knowing body language of a dog, types of aggression, and how to approach a dog.

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