Police dogs aren’t cheap. A well-trained police K-9 can cost tens of thousands of dollars. But when the City of Los Angeles was gifted one by the Police Foundation nonprofit, it turned the offer down. The reason may surprise you.
What’s in a name?
According to the Los Angeles Times, the City Council rejected the donation after member Bob Blumenfield raised concerns about the name of the company that supplied the dog. Adlerhorst International, he noted, shares the name of the bunker used by Adolf Hitler in WWII. Adlerhorst, which was home to Hitler’s command post, means “eagle’s nest” in German.
“This company is a company that is glorifying Hitler’s bunker, and it’s a company that is dealing with German shepherds, of which there’s all that history with the Holocaust,’’ Blumenfield said. “I don’t know that’s the intent of this company, but in reality it’s a creepy name that shouldn’t really be associated with a company like this. They’ve had plenty of time to deal with it, and I can’t support doing business with a company that’s glorifying Hitler’s bunker.”
The company’s president, Michael Reaver, was shocked at the charge. He says he didn’t even know of the Hitler connection.
“Reaver said the company name comes from a German kennel where his father bought a dog, Cora, in the 1960s,” the Times reports. “His father, a former electrician and Air Force veteran who was once stationed in Germany, started breeding sporting dogs and then began working with law enforcement. The elder Reaver launched the business in 1976, and his son said they buy most of their dogs from breeders in Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.”
Reaver insists he does not admire Hitler at all and considers the Holocaust a “horrible period of mankind.”
Broader Questions
Activists who supported the council’s decision have deeper concerns than the company name. Social justice advocates have criticized the use of police dogs to pursue suspects, and particularly suspects of color.
The far-left “anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist” People’s Council opposed the donation over civil rights concerns. The group says it wants a “deeper dive” into donations made by the Police Foundation in general.
The dog in question has been valued at $27,000.