South Bloomfield Police Department’s “K9 Scooby” will receive a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. “K9 Scooby’s” vest is sponsored by Cambridge Warthogs MC
and will be embroidered with the sentiment “In honor of Donnie Breeze Buff”. Delivery is expected within eight to ten weeks.
Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. is a 501c (3) charity located in East Taunton, MA whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. The non-profit was established in 2009 to assist law enforcement agencies with this potentially lifesaving body armor for their four-legged K9 officers. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provided over 2,600 protective vests, in 50 states, through private and corporate donations, at a cost of over 2.1 million dollars.
- Advertisement -The program is open to dogs actively employed in the U.S. with law enforcement or related agencies who are certified and at least 20 months of age. New K9 graduates, as well as K9s with expired vests, are eligible to participate. “Arons Legacy” assisted in getting all K9 Units within Pickaway County that were eligible for this program to submit all necessary items to assist in pursuing K9 protective vests. Donations can be made to Vested Interest in K9s Inc to assist not only in additional K9 Units within Pickaway County from helping protect their K9’s but also in protecting K9 Units from across the country. Please take an opportunity to visit their website or contact them to continue to make additional donations to help all police departments that are in need of these life saving items.
“We are very fortunate to be offered such a great opportunity and we are extremely grateful to not only Vested Intrest in K9s Inc. but to those persons and organizations that continue to make monetary contributions to help us protect our partners. They go into any situation to help us and the communities we work within and are called to help, and regardless of the situation our K9’s will go where the demand is, such as the officers and it is great to see support coming to help us protect them” – Lt. Robert Dauberman
The donation to provide one protective vest for a law enforcement K9 is $950.00. Each vest has a value between $1,744 – $2,283 and a five-year warranty, and an average weight of 4-5 lbs. There is an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States. For more information or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call 508-824-6978. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provides information, lists events, and accepts tax-deductible donations of any denomination at www.vik9s.org or mailed to P.O. Box 9 East Taunton, MA 02718.
