Columbia Police Department’s K9 Kaiser and the Boone County Sheriff’s Office’s K9 Koa are on the job with new ballistic vests and first-aid kits this week, courtesy of Protecting K9 Heroes, a nonprofit that outfits police dogs around the country with protective gear, KOMU 8 reports.
Along with the vests, this round of donations to the two departments included first-aid kits and doses of Narcan, according to KOMU. The Oklahoma-based nonprofit, founded in 2015, says it has now donated more than 1,500 vests and nearly 4,900 first-aid kits to K9 units nationwide since it started, working toward what its founder describes as full ballistic protection for every working police dog in the country.
Columbia police said of the donation, “Because of their generosity, K9 Kaiser is looking sharp.” The Boone County Sheriff’s Office called the vest and first-aid kit provided for Koa “greatly appreciated,” per KOMU’s reporting.
Protecting K9 Heroes was started by Staci Goveia after K9 Kye of the Oklahoma City Police Department was killed in the line of duty in 2014. The nonprofit’s stated mission is to reduce K9 line-of-duty deaths to zero. Neither Columbia police nor the Boone County Sheriff’s Office disclosed the cost of the gear or exactly how many vests each department received in this round, according to the report.
It’s a small equipment swap in the scheme of a police budget, but for the handlers who work alongside Kaiser and Koa every shift, it’s one less thing to worry about heading into a call. Both agencies expressed thanks to the nonprofit for the gear.
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