Donations

All of our Police Service Dogs are now outfitted with ballistic vests.

A minimum of two patrol dogs are required at every tactical call and they certainly deserve the protection of proper equipment. This has been made possible by the generous donations of private citizens and the timeless commitment of two families from Ridgeway. Sarah Zanchin and Summer Lever are two young girls that became aware that our canine partners were attending dangerous tactical calls without the protection that our officers were given. They began raising money through various fundraisers and created the "Vest-a-Dog" campaign. Along with their families, they spent an incredible amount of time out of their busy schedules to organize various events. As a result of their hard work, each patrol dog has been equipped with a ballistic vest.
 


 
Public support for this campaign was greater than expected. The unit consulted with the two young girls to decide what to do with the excess funds. A decision was made to equip each of the patrol vehicles with a combined "Bailout/Hotdog" system. This equipment serves two functions. First, the handler is outfitted with a remote control that is worn as part of their usual equipment. If he/she requires assistance, at the touch of a button the rear door of the police cruiser opens and the dog can immediately respond to the handler. Secondly, the vehicle is outfitted with a heat sensitive thermometer. In the event of a mechanical malfunction where the temperature inside the vehicle exceeds a certain point, the horn and lights are automatically activated and the rear windows roll down. This ensures that our valuable partners are always safe and the handler can immediately respond to the vehicle and rectify the problem. This could prevent a tragedy where one of our loyal partners could be put at risk.
 


Sarah Zanchin and Summer Lever with Shadow and the Canine Unit
(Click the image above to view picture)


Sarah Zanchin and Summer Lever with former Chief of Police Gary Nicholls, Cst. Malloy and Shadow
(Click the image above to view picture)


Sarah Zanchin and Summer Lever with Shadow and Cst. Malloy
(Click the image above to view picture)

 

 

 
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