Working Dogs: Federal Agencies Need to Better Address Health and Welfare – GAO-23-104489 Published: Oct 19, 2022. Publicly Released: Oct 19, 2022. “As of February 2022, about 5,100 working dogs served the federal government in 40 federally managed programs within eight departments and three independent agencies. In addition, approximately 400 working dogs served the federal government in 24 contractor-managed programs within eight departments and two independent agencies. Officials from federally and contractor-managed working dog programs most commonly reported using working dogs to detect explosives or narcotics, among other things. Some of these programs’ policies address all 18 issues GAO identified as important to the health and welfare of working dogs, but most do not. For example, about half of the federally managed programs do not address abuse and neglect or requirements for rest and duration of on-duty working time in their policies. Similarly, about half of the contractor-managed programs do not address abuse and neglect or how to handle working dog retirement or euthanasia decisions in their contract-related documents. One contractor-managed program did not address any of the 18 important issues GAO identified. Three Department of State programs were providing more than 1,000 working dogs to foreign partners, primarily for explosives and narcotics detection, as of February 2022…Addressing all 18 of the issues GAO identified for federally managed programs, future contracts, and standards for foreign partners, as appropriate, can help ensure that federal agencies adequately provide for the health and welfare of their working dogs. This, in turn, would help ensure the dogs’ humane treatment and optimal performance.”