As Virginia prepares to legalise adult possession of up to an ounce of cannabis from July 1, drug-sniffing police dogs from around the US state are being forced into early retirement.
This follows a trend in other American states where legalisation has led to K-9s being put out to pasture earlier than planned.
In Virginia, the rush to take cannabis-detecting dogs out of service began even before legislators voted last month to accelerate the timetable for legalisation.
A separate law that went into effect in March prohibits police from stopping or searching anyone based solely on the odour of cannabis.