Any thoughts or opinions about whether or not Star Fleet would use military working dogs? With all the advanced technology in Star Trek, would there be a place for K9s and dog handlers? What purpose would they serve? I presume they would be used on away missions and boarding actions, but is that enough to justify the expense of breeding, training, and caring for the K9s? I presume there would be pros and cons, as with any other piece of "hardware". Would the benefits outweigh any downsides of using K9s like we do in the modern era? Does it make sense to use living animals for this role, or would a robot fit the mission requirements better? Thoughts and opinions??
And a tricorder can detect energy emissions, which a dog can't. You've possibly found the one area of militarization of Starfleet that even KamenRiderBlade doesn't think is feasible, so that should tell you where the argument is going.
I say, yes, but it's a relatively tiny program. First of all, it's a big galaxy. Almost all missions can be handled by tech. But occasionally, situations such as the following when the tech itself is compromised, say due to high levels of some sort of radiation that affects the tech but is not lethal when the tech cannot legally be used, say due to a planet being or having a tech-free sanctuary set up by some party Starfleet wouldn't want to be caught completely flat-footed in such situations. The US Army keeps the cavalry tradition preserved for posterity in the 1st Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Cavalry_Division_Horse_Cavalry_Detachment].
No power source is forever. Indeed. While I think the use of dogs in Starfleet could be quite limited I do not see it as a deal breaker. Starfleet might simply relegated to a special service division, smaller but considered helpful in specific instances.
Dogs need food, water, health care, walks from it's trainers, clean-up after it poos/pees, etc. It's not a free lunch to maintain a dog.
It's not a free lunch to generate energy either. Dogs offer social support as well as positive influence upon the humans it interacts with.
There would be other animals in use, not just dogs. There's an idea for an episode...a race that uses humanoids like MWDs.
The main downside IMHO to using dogs is that they would have a much higher mortality (possibly bordering on cruelty) in Starfleet because they're going to be exposed directly to very toxic and contagious particles and alien life forms as they sniff aliens and alien environments.
Assuming dogs could consent to be used, they would be asked. If they couldn't, well, just think of all the other things "enlightened" people of Star Trek do to their pets that they never ask their permission for; move to a new home, seek medical care, groom them, feed them certain foods, etc.
Yep. Spock could mind meld with Gracie. There is Cetacean Ops. I think in Canine Ops (love it!) they effectively communicate with dogs on whatever level the dogs and people can together. Maybe also specialized Vulcans mind meld with them, whether only occasionally, always in certain instances, or perhaps even as a matter of routine. Also, yep.
Mythical Red Shirts and K9 Corps might share some unusual similarities... Stardate 2450.1 RIP Fido I, sniffed explosive flower on planet Apple-2 Stardate 2450.2 RIP Fido II, electrocuted while marking energized power coupling on USS Bud Stardate 2458.2 RIP Fido III, died when alien ticks attacked while going on walk on Scarlet-3. 1 additional crew fatality that was assigned to walk Fido III. Stardate 2458.4 RIP Fido IV, put down after ingesting toxic blood when biting alien prisoner and began biting crew of USS Bud. 3 additional crew fatalities. Stardate 2462.5 MIA Fido VI, presumed missing after spooked during transporter beam up and ran away from beam up point on planet Hades-5. Stardate 2462.6 RIP Fido VI, recovered from Hades-5 but contaminated with unknown dangerous biological organisms and brought on USS Bud Stardate 2462.6 RIP Fido VII, died along with Fido VI and crew of USS Bud when outbreak occurred on USS Bud No real dogs were harmed in this exercise in science fiction