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Parma council refers canine‑sale ordinances back to Public Safety Committee after staff said dogs are at end of working life
Summary
Council referred three ordinances proposing $1 sales/transfers of retired Parma police canines back to committee; staff told the committee the animals were at or near the end of their working lives and the finance office reviewed valuation standards before the ordinances were introduced.
The Parma City Council on April 21 referred three ordinances (68-25, 76-25 and 77-25) that would authorize sale or transfer of retired police canines (Dexter, Max and Benny) for $1 each back to the Public Safety Committee for further review.
At a Safety Committee meeting earlier in the evening, Safety Director Corey explained that all three dogs were at or near the end of their useful working lives. Corey said canine Benny in particular had “his actual useful life is over,” and noted that all three dogs were trained to indicate marijuana, which reduces potential re‑deployment options. Finance staff described a valuation scale used to confirm that transfers at nominal value complied with applicable standards before legislation was filed.
Nut graf: Council did not act on the ordinances; instead members voted to send them back to committee to allow staff to provide additional information about the dogs’ medical and working‑status records and to confirm the statutory valuation basis for the proposed transfers.
Discussion details - Safety Director Corey: “In all cases, their working lives are over. ... In addition, I believe all 3 of the dogs are imprinted on marijuana. ... so all 3 dogs are either at their useful life, cannot be used in service, or a combination of all 3.”
- Finance/valuation review: A finance staff member said the city uses a grading scale to calculate a dog’s value when considering transfers or sales; that review was done before the ordinances were introduced.
Council direction - The three canine sale ordinances were referred back to the Public Safety Committee to allow staff to bring additional documentation (medical/working‑status records, valuation analysis) and to permit further committee-level discussion.
Ending: No transfers were finalized at this meeting; the ordinances will return to the committee with requested follow‑up information.
