Orange County K-9 named Trump could spark policy change after meme goes viral

Orange County sheriff's deputies are now reviewing their procedures about how they name their dogs, after a meme about one of their K-9 dogs, named “Trump,” went viral through a Facebook post. 

"Atta boy, Trump! Making a difference!" That's the text over the photograph of an Orange County Deputy's K-9 vehicle. The image shows the SUV bearing the dog's name, "Trump," above the department's motto, "Making a difference."

The photo, with the text and flag, first showed up on the Facebook group "Cop Humor," and started going viral. Since it went online, the post has gained traction on social media. Already it's gotten more than 1,200 reactions and more than 250 shares, as of Friday morning.

 

The Sheriff's Office says deputies name the dogs they work with, and this post is prompting them to review that policy. In a statement, the Sheriff's Office says, "We are aware that this is being shared on social media. In the future, the sheriff’s office may consider directing deputies to avoid naming their K-9 partners after real people."

Every department has their own rules for naming their dogs, says Tod Goodyear, with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

“Sometimes the sheriff has the option to name the dog something specific. The trainer can put forth a name he'd like to use for the dog and that can happen as long as there's approval from command staff and the sheriff,” he said.

Goodyear added that there were lots of different ways dogs are named.

“For instance,” he said, “JetBlue donated two dogs to us, one's now named Jet and the other is Blue. We've also let the citizens of the county put a name forth, so that's how Jake got his name, which is named for a former Sheriff.”

We also heard back from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office and Orlando Police. Both said that they have no written policy about how officers name their dogs, but they say all names must be reviewed by supervisors.