In August, 2020 the Police Kennels in Asgiriya, Kandy made the decision to auction off 25 of their retired service dogs to the public. This was done with no follow-ups  or house-checks in place. 

We believe that these dogs have given Sri Lanka their absolute best and deserve far better than to be auctioned off upon retirement.

Following a petition, on 08 September 2020, many National Newspapers were told that "Defense Secretary Major General (Rtd) Kamal Gunaratne had informed the acting IGP not to auction retired sniffer dogs, but to keep them and treat them under the care of the Police Department until their death”, however to date this has not been made official and remains as a statement given to press. 

On 09 September 2020, the creators of this petition - Tails of Freedom and Embark wrote to the Acting Inspector General of Police Mr. C. D. Wickramaratne asking for a meeting with him or a suitable officer from the kennel division to further discuss how a system can be put in place for retired service canines so auctions and irresponsible re-homing never happens again. We also requested the details of the 25 dogs to ensure their welfare and if they had been taken back or not. 

We wish to discuss a long term plan for these 25 as well as any future service dog. We want to ensure that they are given the best retirement possible and wish to support the Sri Lanka Police (and any other government body with service dogs) in doing so. 

To date we have heard nothing back. As far as we know the dogs have not been taken back. As the people who crafted and drove the petition, we have NEVER been directly contacted by the kennel division or anyone else who has any knowledge of the dogs.

We continue to receive disturbing reports of service dogs - potentially of this group of 25 dogs. One with serious urinary tract issues, tied 24 hours a day and another  (may or may not be a service dog) who escaped a home with no fencing and was hit by a vehicle. We know for a fact some of these dogs have been taken to breed - at over 10 years of age by people who don't understand how to care for them. 

We will not stop until we receive a response and a meeting, because no matter what happened these dogs kept us safe for over a decade. They asked no questions; they didn’t stop in the harshest of circumstances.

They deserve far more than this and we will not stop until our 25 retired canine officers and all future service dogs are safe.

This petition has been prepared to request that His Excellency President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Acting Inspector General of the Sri Lanka Police Mr. C. D. Wickramaratne, please help get these dogs released and allow us to support and help them to live the remainder of their lives with the respect and care they deserve.

These dogs should not be traumatized towards the end of their life span but given every bit of care they they so richly deserve. Please support us to keep this issue alive until they are safe.