Make it a felony to kill a canine officer

HB 5436 amends West Virginia law to classify police canines as "law enforcement officers" when actively working with human officers, directly affecting police departments and canine units. The bill specifies that officers defending a canine during duty may use the same level of force as they would to protect a human officer. It clarifies that canines are not state employees and do not receive personnel protections, but their protection during service is treated as equivalent to protecting a human officer. This is a definitional change, not a new penalty, with no specific sentencing details provided in the text.