The Raleigh News & Observer explains why:
A decade ago, police dogs were seen as four-legged indulgences that took too big a bite out of the budget for most small-town departments to consider.
Now, small departments say they can’t afford not to have canines, which can be trained to identify drugs and explosives, find missing or wanted people, locate evidence and protect their handlers. At least eight of the 12 municipalities in Wake County have canine units, along with the sheriff’s office
And with the increased demand for police dogs, comes a oddity: imported dogs.
Joe Mercer, one of 10 canine officers with the Raleigh Police Department, said most police dogs are German shepherds or Belgian malinois, and many are imported from Eastern Europe. They are often taught to follow commands in German, Dutch or Czech.
And the obvious question, if the dogs are from Eastern Europe why are they trained to understand instruction German, Dutch or Czech? The Czech Republic is arguably in Eastern Europe but Germany and Holland most certainly are not…
