Of the 139 police dogs killed by guns in the line of duty in the last 40 years, 29 of those deaths were – euphemism alert! — due to “friendly fire.”

That’s according to statistics compiled by the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association, and cited in a Baltimore Sun article yesterday.

The figures weren’t broken down into how many of those ”friendly fire” deaths were a result of dogs being caught up in the middle of a gunfight, as opposed to cases of mistaken identity — like the one that led to a Baltimore police dog being shot by an officer he jumped on during a pursuit this week.

But either way, even without adding in the number of injuries, the figures show society could be doing a better job of protecting its police dogs.

On top of the nationwide toll of friendly-fire deaths, and far more common, are police dogs being killed by suspects — as has happened 110 times (with guns) and 25 times (with knives).

So there are really two issues here. One, as evidenced by the case of Baltimore police dog Blade, is whether all police dogs should be distinctly marked as such, by virtue of a vest, collar or other means.

The other, larger one is whether police dogs (and the dogs of the FBI) should be outfitted — like their human counterparts — in bullet-proof vests, something that hasn’t been a priority with municipal officials in Baltimore and lots of other financially-strapped cities.

On the smaller issue, there is disagreement among experts. Some believe putting a dog in a vest for identification purposes, in addition to slowing that dog down, could lead to injuries as a result of the fabric getting snagged on fences and urban debris. Others believe that’s a small price to pay for something that might save the dog’s life, and that police dogs should be clearly marked as such.

Jim Cortina, director of the police dog association in Connecticut, and Russ Hess, director  of the U.S. Police Canine Association, told The Sun that outfitting police dogs in identification vests — while the policy of some departments — is not a widely accepted standard.

A Baltimore police spokesman said the department is  looking at using reflective collars for dogs, but even that might not have prevented the shooting of Blade, given the speed at which the incident played out.

While police departments aren’t tripping over each other to equip their dogs with vests — either for identification purposes, or protection — a few compassionate citizens have taken up the cause.

Six-year-old Kayleigh Crimmins sold her toys on Craigslist to raise money to buy bullet-proof vests for police dogs in Newport News, Virginia.

Then there’s Alyssa Mayorga in California — aka the “Penny Princess” — who started, at age 7 , picking pennies offf the street and now has her own website devoted to raising money to provide bullet-proof vests for police dogs. She has purchased around 30 of them for police departments in California, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Both little girls were motivated after hearing of cases in which police dogs died in the line of duty.

Children at St. Cloud Elementary School pooled their spare change to raise more than $1,000 in just two weeks to buy a bullet-proof vest for a police dog named Ajsa, who had visited the school earlier. While the town couldn’t come up with a way equip Ajsa with a $1,000 vest, students figured it right out, placing donation bags in homerooms and school offices and raising $1,173.61 in just two weeks, according to the Orlando Sentinel’s “Animal Crazy” blog. (Note to Baltimore schoolteachers: Need a class project?)

Some adults are helping out, too. In 2002, Susie Jean, then living in Georgia, saw a police dog killed on an episode of “America’s Most Wanted.”  The next day, she called her local police department and asked if they had bullet-proof vests for their police dogs. They said no, they didn’t have the money for that. Jean made it her mission to raise some and, a few months later, supplied vests to all five of the department’s police dogs.

Jean went on to found Vest ‘N P.D.P., Inc., an organization that has provided 422 bullet-proof vests to police dogs in 39 states.

The rationale behind all those grass roots efforts — so simple that first-graders figure it out – doesn’t seem to have sunk in with a lot of government bureaucrats: Aren’t we obligated, given the dangerous situations we place them in, to provide a modicum of protection to those who are protecting and serving us, even if they’re dogs?

(Photos from EliteK9.com)

A Sunday fire at the Second Chance Animal Shelter in Killeen, Texas, killed 99 cats and 12 dogs.

Volunteers on MOnday descended upon the shelter, operated by the Centex Humane Society, to help clean and repair the facility, which is expected to be closed for at least two weeks.

The fire started around 1:30 a.m. Sunday and was reported by a passing driver. It was quickly extinguished, according to the Killeen Daily Herald. No animals were burned. Instead, the fire’s smoke killed all the animals.

The  fire remains under investigation, but it is believed to have started in or near a kitchen close to the building’s entrance. Only one dog and two cats in the front of the building survived the fire. The dog, a 2-year-old Pomeranian named Shirley, had been struck by a car two weeks ago when she darted into the street after she escaped from a volunteer during a walk.

She and the other surviving animals were transported to foster care in private homes and at other shelters.

“They are like your kids after awhile,” said Dana Ingram, a kennel technician. “I know all the ones that passed away. It was very hard.”

More than 60 volunteers from Fort Hood and local churches crowded the shelter Monday. Many volunteers covered their faces with masks to avoid the smell of smoke that lingered in the hallways. The cleanup began Sunday when almost 100 people responded.

Twenty greyhounds died or were euthanized after races in Texas last year, according to records obtained by GREY2K USA, a Massachusetts-based group seeking to end dog racing nationally.

The 20 were among more than 310 that had minor-to-major injuries.

Christine Dorchak, president and general counsel of  Grey2K, said the figures from the Texas Racing Commission show the need to halt an industry in which dead and injured dogs are considered “a cost of doing business.”

Breeders and track proponents say the injuries and deaths represent just a tiny percentage, when compared to the tens of thousands of times dogs collectively race around tracks. Nearly two-thirds of 2008 injuries were rated as minor, according to the commission.

“For us, that’s like saying no dogs should be athletic,” Diane Whiteley, a breeder and executive director of the Texas Greyhound Association, told the Houston Chronicle. “Anybody that’s ever had a greyhound that’s been injured feels awful about that. They’re like your kids.”

Gulf Greyhound Park in La Marque, the only Texas track that currently has live dog racing, accounted for most of the 2008 injuries with its year-round racing schedule. Valley Race Park in Harlingen raced part of last year and since has taken a break in live racing.

(Photo by Denise McFadden, courtesy of Grey2kusa.org)