Pasadena Panel to Consider Accepting Donated Tracking Dog for Police Department

The Pasadena Public Safety Committee is set to consider a proposal allowing the City Council to accept the donation of a dedicated tracking and trailing canine from the Pasadena Police Foundation.

The item appears on the committee’s Jan. 21 agenda under new business and would authorize the City to formally accept the dog for use by the Pasadena Police Department’s K-9 unit.

According to a staff report, Pasadena’s canine unit currently includes four dual-purpose patrol dogs trained in narcotics or explosives detection and one single-purpose explosive detection dog. None of the existing dogs are trained specifically for tracking or trailing.

Because of that gap, the department currently relies on outside agencies and vendors to handle tracking requests, including searches involving missing persons and suspects.

The report states those services often involve long response times and inconsistent availability.

The donated canine would be trained specifically for tracking and trailing and is intended to strengthen the department’s ability to locate missing people and criminal suspects.

The dog would replace one of the department’s current patrol canines that is scheduled to retire in spring 2026 and would not increase the total number of dogs assigned to the unit.

The donation is valued at $25,000, according to a City staff report contained in the agenda. The Pasadena Police Department said the acceptance of the dog would not create a fiscal impact because ongoing costs such as veterinary care, kenneling and training are already included in the department’s operating budget.

If the committee approves the recommendation, it would move forward to the City Council, which would make the final decision on whether to accept the donation.