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National group donates bullet- and stab-resistant vest for McCandless K9 Joy
A nonprofit organization has outfitted McCandless police K9 Joy with the same kind of protective gear worn by the department’s human officers.
Vested Interest in K9s has donated a bullet- and stab-resistant protective vest that was purchased with charitable donations that it received. The dog’s vest will be embroidered with the sentiment “Gifted by Lake Marshall Drive Friends” in honor of the group that donated the money.
Joy’s handler, Sgt. Bryan Madden, said protecting a police dog is critical because they are used in situations where they can be injured, such as searches for suspects.
Madden said a well-trained dog “knows where the danger is before we ever will.”
“His (Joy’s) senses — his eyes, ears and nose — are so much keener than a human’s, which helps them protect us,” Madden said.
The dog’s acute senses and ability to quickly cover large areas also are used to search for missing people.
Madden, a nearly 30-year veteran of the department with more than 20 years of experience raising and training working dogs, has been Joy’s handler since he was obtained by the department in 2017.
The 5-year-old German Shepard from Holland was purchased from Shallow Creek Kennels in Mercer County for about $14,000, which included the cost of his initial training.
The Allegheny County District Attorney donated $7,000 from drug forfeitures to help offset the cost of developing McCandless’ K9 unit because it provides the county with an asset in the fight against the opioid crisis.
Protective K9 vests cost between $1,700 and $2,300, according to Vested Interest in K9s, but the East Taunton, Mass., organization is able to obtain them for $960.
Since being founded in 2009, the organization has used the donations it receives to supply more than 4,150 ballistic vests to police departments in the United States.
The organization also uses donations to provide K9 Narcan kits, medical first aid kits for dogs and other safety equipment and services to protect dogs working in law enforcement.
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