Sponsors (8)
The bill pilots placing trained support dogs with CBP to boost officer wellbeing and help shelters, but it requires upfront public spending, imposes a tight implementation timeline, and risks disrupting continuity if the short pilot is not transitioned or extended.
CBP officers and support staff will gain trained support dogs that can assist with morale and stress reduction during operations.
Local animal shelters may see more adoptions, reducing shelter crowding and lowering costs for local governments and animal-care providers.
CBP and DHS will run the program as a 3-year pilot, allowing federal managers to evaluate effectiveness and decide whether to continue or scale the program.
Taxpayers and CBP/DHS budgets will absorb new costs for adoption, training, veterinary care, and program administration.
CBP staff and program managers may face strain from a rapid 60-day deadline to implement the pilot, risking rushed procurement, inadequate oversight, or poor planning.
Law-enforcement handlers and support dogs could face disruption if the limited 3-year pilot ends without transition plans, undermining continuity of care and program benefits.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires CBP to run a three-year pilot adopting shelter dogs and training them as support dogs, established within 60 days of enactment.
Requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection to create a pilot program that adopts dogs from local animal shelters and trains them as support dogs for CBP’s Support Canine Program. The agency must start the pilot within 60 days of enactment and the pilot ends three years after it begins. The law only sets the requirement and timeline for the pilot; it does not specify funding levels, selection criteria for shelters, or detailed training standards beyond integrating adopted dogs into the existing Support Canine Program.
Official title: To establish in U.S. Customs and Border Protection a pilot program to adopt dogs from local animal shelters to be trained as support dogs, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 18, 2026 by David Joyce · Last progress September 16, 2026