Breed, age, sex structure, uses, diseases and injuries of service dogs in the cynological centers of the National Police of Ukraine under martial law

Service dogs can perform a number of functions not available to humans. They are a valuable asset to law enforcement agencies. In order to keep them healthy and ready for duty, it is necessary to have comprehensive statistics on medical problems and the various types of pathologies associated with them. We reviewed 922 records pertaining to disease and injuries, breed, age, gender, status, and areas of use for 819 service dogs that are handled by dog handlers at the National Police of Ukraine. Similar data from 2021 (853 animals and 866 records) were used for comparison. The average number of dogs in dog c ynological c enters increased from 34.1 in 2021 to 37.2 in 2023 – 2024. In the last three years t he number of females and males has equalised . Changes in the composition of females were statistically significant. The weighted average age of animals increased from 4.9 0 to 4.97 years. A decrease in the number of dogs in the age range from 3 to 6 years was detected. German and Belgian shepherds were most common breeds. A significant increase in the number of Malinois should be noted. The share of search and special dogs decreased, while the number of reserve animals increased. Injury and disease incidents were formed as categorical variables with 15 levels. The number of records in 6 groups (gastrointestinal diseases, injuries, diseases of the eyes and ears, skin diseases, joint diseases, and parasitic diseases) exceeded 5% after a thorough analysis. Limb injuries most often occur during the liquid a tion of the consequences of the destruction of infrastructure facilities, when removing rubble and searching for people in areas of destr oyed buildings, the presence of shrapnel fields after explosions and patrolling in unfamiliar terrain. The maximum number of 192 records of 13 diseases were found for the gastrointestinal tract. The largest increase was in cases of alimentary enteritis, ent e rocolitis and gastroenteritis. Among diseases of the eyes and ears, otitis media and cataracts clearly prevailed. Pathologies of the organs of vision and hearing in dogs in the near-front zone accounted for 13.5%, and 7.4% were treated in a hospital. Among skin diseases, the number of dermatitis cases decreased, but the number of sub- and allergic dermatitis cases increased. Among the pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, arthritis, bursitis, hip arthrosis and dysplasia were detected. For joints, arthritis was the biggest problem, and coxarthrosis showed the highest growth. The risk of parasitic diseases has decreased. Toxocariasis was the most commonly detected disease, and the maximum decrease was in babesiosis. The level of polymorbidity increased by 10.8%, indicating an increase in multiple pathology. For dogs on rotation, the average polymorbidity value was 1.77. The number of stress-related diseases, musculoskeletal disorders and trauma to the limbs increased significantly, which means that an important factor in the increase in multiple pathology was the performance of special service tasks by police dogs on the contact line and in the de-occupied territories.