Wisconsin Vest A Dog Program

Over a dozen police K-9’s are killed each year. Most were shot or stabbed by the suspects they were attempting to apprehend. Sadly, many law enforcement agencies and police departments do not have the funds to purchase body armor that can save the lives of their police dogs. The cost of each vest is around $850 to $1000 depending on which vest best suits each dog. In July Mounds donated $0.50 per 35 lb. bag of Mounds Dog Power sold to help purchase safety vests for local police K-9’s. Thanks to your purchases we were able to raise enough funds to vest some local police K-9’s.

The Dane County Regional Airport and Dane County Sheriff’s Office recently welcomed the newest member of the Dane County Bomb Squad – a two-year-old K-9 detector dog named Lord, originally from Holland. Lord and his handler, Deputy Scott Lindner, will conduct searches of airplanes, unattended or suspicious packages, freight from the loading dock, and other safety and security checks as needed. Lord is certified in explosive detection techniques and is trained in 19 explosive odors.

Ty is a male Black Lab from WinDogs in Middleton, Wisconsin. He is partnered with handler Deputy Tony Enger. Ty is trained in tracking, search and rescue, both land and water cadaver detection. Ty is used for locating missing or lost persons, searching articles, areas, and buildings, disaster events such as a Tornado or crashes, and criminal investigations. Ty serves Local, regional, State and Federal Government entities on Search and Rescue incidents.

Rico is a Belgian Malanois and was imported from Holland to Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana. He is partnered with handler Deputy Keith Kelly. Rico is trained as a dual-purpose canine because of the multiple jobs he performs. Rico is a certified narcotics detector dog. He is also trained in tracking and aggression. Rico can find suspects by following their odor trail on the ground. He completes building and area searches for suspects.

The vests for the new K-9’s will be provided by Wisconsin Vest-ADog. Wisconsin Vest-A-Dog was started in 2005 and is a non-profit, tax-deductible organization endorsed by the Wisconsin Veterinary Association. For more information on how you can help vest a local police K-9 go to the Wisconsin Vest-A-Dog program website www.wivestadog.org.