Police dog vests are given to K9 dogs. These are the first police dogs to get this added protection.
K9s Get Vests On Monday and Tuesday, a dozen bullet and stab-proof vests were given to police K9s, thanks to the Illinois-Vest-a-Dog Program. Delivered by Lee and Xavier Harrison, the nonprofit has provided vests to more than 335 police dogs in just six years.
With each vest costing $825, the program survives on fundraisers and donations. Part of the latest delivered vests were due to a donation."We got an anonymous donation for the exact amount of four vests costs," Lee Harrison told ZT Pet News about part of the vest deliveries. "And they asked for those vest to be given to the Fairview Heights Police Dept." Lee says they will keep on working until every police dog in the state has been "vested." Part of getting every police dog vested comes down to the officers themselves. "The only thing we ask of the officers is for them to agree to a photo being taken with their dog, and for them to give us the names of K9s who don't have a vest yet," explained Lee, who established the nonprofit after a career with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service showed her the value of service dogs. This weekend will kick off a couple fundraisers where the husband and wife team hope to raise enough money for a handful of more vests. According to Lee, Illinois is one of 11 states with programs to provide the vests for K9s. For more information, visit iVestADog.org.
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