The Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Metropolitan Division K-9 Unit is sending two K-9 trainers to South Korea to test and evaluate the possibility of the Jindo being integrated into the Department’s K-9 Program.

The Metropolitan Division will partner with the Jindo Dog Promotion and Innovation Agency (JDPIA) in the first of its kind collaboration with a police agency in the United States.

The Jindo breed is considered an intelligent, brave and loyal animal, and is designated as South Korea’s 53rd National Treasure.

A collective agreement was reached calling for two LAPD K-9 handlers to travel to Chonnam Province in South Korea to participate in a thorough evaluation and assessment of the breed in the project funded by JDPIA.

While in South Korea, department personnel will be permitted to test between 20 to 30 Jindo dogs, ranging in age from three months to two years old, for their suitability to be police service dogs and gun detection dogs. Upon successful testing and evaluation, LAPD trainers will be permitted to select two Jindo dogs, which will be donated by JDPIOA, for continued evaluation and testing with the LAPD’s K-9 Program.

Additionally, the LAPD will provide a methodology of training specifications for Jindo dog breeders/trainers, and a communication network will be established for future discussions regarding K-9 training, tactics and technology. The Metropolitan Department will provide quarterly feedback to personnel at JDPIA concerning the progress of the Jindo dog’s training, including any concerns identified that would affect future research, training and collaboration.

For information, visit www.lapdonline.org.