• As an integral part of the police force, dogs are used for defence-intervention missions or to detect narcotics or explosive devices.
  • Once their career is over, police dogs are usually adopted by their owners or offered for adoption to individuals.
  • At the Rennes canine brigade, three freshly reformed Malinois shepherds are waiting for a new home.

Their presence in the ranks of the police dates back to 1845. That year, the Paris police prefecture had for the first time called dogs to try to save people from drowning. A century later, the first canine brigades were born, rapidly deploying throughout the country. Since then, dogs have become indispensable within the police in the same way as among gendarmes, firefighters or customs officers.



Within the forces of law and order, they carry out various missions. Intervention defense dogs are thus called to secure control operations or separate or arrest violent individuals. "Their presence is often a deterrent but they can also attack," says Major Peyretout, head of the Rennes canine unit. With their fearsome flair, sniffer dogs are used to track drugs or explosives.

Retirement set around 7 or 8 years

In the vast majority, these dogs are Malinois shepherds, a breed that has gradually replaced German shepherds. "It is a lively and enduring dog, which really corresponds to our missions," says Major Wybaillie, deputy head of the Rennes canine brigade. Future agents are recruited when they are between 1 and 3 years old, either purchased from professionals or more often picked up from associations or shelters. "We are lucky to still have trainers in the police so we can recover dogs that have no technical basis," says Major Wybaillie.

After three to six months of training, they are able to go out into the field and maintain order. Until retirement, set on average at the age of seven for intervention-defense dogs, more affected by injuries, and at the age of eight for research dogs. "Some could continue afterwards but we prefer to reform them when they start to tire," says the deputy chief.

Dogs often adopted by their owners

And then, what happens to his dogs once their brilliant career is over? In many cases, dogs are adopted by their owners. But for various reasons (lack of space, too many dogs at home...), this is not always possible and the police must then find them a new family. At the Rennes canine brigade, three dogs are offered for adoption. "We do everything to put them back in places where they will be good because we do not want them to end up as guard dogs," says Major Peyretout.


[#IlsSontPoliciers]
Isis, Jeko and Lucky!
Three magnificent 🐶 @PoliceNat35 who must leave the police are looking for new masters.
Information from the canine brigade: ddsp35-csp-rennes-ucl@interieur.gouv.fr pic.twitter.com/5jBlT4d8Vv

— National Police 35 (@PoliceNat35) March 6, 2023

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Ready to enjoy a well-deserved retirement, the three dogs have a very different profile. Jeko, 8 years old, the oldest of the bunch, presents that of the perfect dog. "He's the best public servant here," smiles Major Peyretout. He is extremely sociable, he is never sick or injured and he is very successful. During his career, the Malinois found 530 kg of cannabis resin, 20 kg of cocaine and 17 kg of heroin, an estimated market value of 700,000 euros. "His only flaw is that he does not like cats," slips his master.

A retirement home for police dogs in Marseille

Defense-intervention dog, Lucky, 7 years old, has a very big character. "He needs someone who knows dogs because he has trouble supporting other people around him," warns the deputy head of the brigade. The youngest of the three, Isis, 5, is forced into retirement due to a food problem that has prevented her from proving herself in the ranks of the police.

In some cases, reformed police dogs also prove unfit for adoption, unable by their nature to adapt to a new home. To offer them a dignified end of life, a retirement home, the first of its kind in France, was opened in September 2021 in Cabriès near Marseille. A project that could in the future make young in the other canine brigades of France.

  • Dog
  • Animals
  • Police
  • Policeman
  • Adoption
  • Retirement
  • Rennes
  • Brittany
  • Society