Stripes, a local drug/bomb sniffing dog for the Silver Lake police department, was always considered one of the guys. That was until he was left with an injured paw that put his career on the police force on the sidelines.
(prHWY.com) October 24, 2012 - Seattle, WA -- Stripes, a local drug/bomb sniffing dog for the Silver Lake police department, was always considered one of the guys. That was until he was left with an injured paw that put his career on the police force on the sidelines.
"Stripes was a great dog that served the local police force for a number of years," said police chief, James Clark. "Unfortunately, he was out playing catch with his family and he injured his paw. This left him unable to work to his fullest potential in the field and we had to pull him from the roster."
When the Silver Lake police pulled Stripes from the roster it left him with no general income. Most police dogs earn a regular salary and actually pay taxes on those earnings. The injury left Stripes with no income to use on products, healthcare or basic essentials.
"I was a little concerned with Stripes well-being," said his lifelong companion and caretaker. "He didn't need a lot of income, but he had some health needs that needed to be met. And his basic essentials weren't covered."
Stripes' lifelong companion and caretaker tried to
apply for SSI disability. This was done in an effort to help Stripes earn an income that was roughly the same as what he was earning on the force.
"I was surprised when Stripes was denied SSI disability", said the companion. "He paid taxes like everyone else. He served his community and this was how he was repaid. I was a bit sad to see that that was how things turned out."
Stripes and his caretaker took the case to the local SSI disability attorney. The attorney quickly picked up the case and offered to take it to the Supreme Court if it needed to be taken that far.
"People think this was an issue of just getting a regular dog some money", said the attorney. "It isn't that at all. This is a dog that had a job, earned a living, and paid into the system. He got injured and could no longer perform his duties and that is what SSI disability is there for. He should have been approved."
The case for Stripes to earn his SSI disability check is still pending. The local board for SSI disability will hear the case at the end of December. It could be spring 2013 before Stripes and his caretaker get word on whether he was approved or declined.
###