PETA Statement: San Diego K-9 Set on Fire Shows Why Police Dogs Must Be Phased Out

For Immediate Release:
September 17, 2026

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-43-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Associate Director Colin Henstock in response to a San Diego Police Department K-9 named Ryder being set on fire after being sent into a standoff with a suspect armed with an incendiary device:

This poor dog being set on fire by an armed suspect is another grim reminder of the risks that K-9s endure, which they have no say in and don’t sign up for. Police officers choose a dangerous profession, dogs don’t—yet K-9s are routinely sent into situations deemed too dangerous for human officers, where they can be burned, shot, stabbed, beaten, or killed. PETA is calling on the San Diego Police Department to immediately retire Ryder so that he may recover and live in peace, and to end this preventable suffering by phasing out its K-9 program in favor of state-of-the-art technology that helps police, protects the community, and keeps dogs safe.

PETA notes that this incident is the latest in ongoing epidemic affecting K-9s, many of whom sustain fatal injuries in the field or even suffer abuse from their own handlers. That’s why PETA is calling on law enforcement agencies nationwide to end these preventable tragedies by retiring K-9 programs in favor of advanced technology such as tactical robots, drones, or portable mass spectrometers.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.