October 29, 2008

A New Mexico non-profit organization is trying to outfit all police K-9s across the country with bulletproof vests. (Pet Pulse Photo Courtesy of Ron Sturdevant)

NEW YORK -- After witnessing a violent attack on a police K-9, a New Mexico woman is helping take a bite out of crime by giving K-9 units extra protection in the line of duty.

Because while police K-9s are notoriously tough, when faced a flying bullet, their quick responses and sharply bared teeth can only protect them to a certain extent.

Susie Jean, founder of Vest 'N Police Dog Protection, wants to provide K-9s with one essential, guaranteed form of security: bulletproof vests.

"Us taxpayers pay for these police dogs, and could spend up to $30,000 on training," she said.

"What is an extra $600 [the price of a vest]? One shot, and all that training and everything is gone. It just isn't worth it."

Jean founded the organization two years ago, after she witnessed a police officer's K-9 partner get shot and killed in her town, Socorro, N.M.

"This guy was just crying out loud, 'You shot my dog, you killed my dog' and I couldn't believe it," she said. "I turned to my husband and said I wanted to see if I could help protect these dogs. I began to raise money and the whole thing snowballed."

Vest 'NPDP has outfitted 245 police dogs since 2002, helping units in 26 states.

Most recently, the non-profit organization donated eight bullet, stab-proof vests to the K-9 Unit at the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The vests, which weigh around five pounds, are generally retailed at $1,500. Jean receives them in bulk from her supplier at $695, and donates them to police departments free of charge.

The cost is often too much for budget-conscious police departments to spring for, she says.

Many K-9 police units in Georgia, for example, are considering eliminating the number of dogs on patrol, as Pet Pulse previously reported.

Scrimping on the K-9 budget can be spotted on a national level, too. The Homeland Security Department's Federal Protective Service is said to be cutting 31 K-9 inspectors during the fiscal year of 2008, according to GovernmentExectuvive.com.

Still, the need to provide for those remaining on-duty K-9s prevails.

Jean tries not to turn any K-9 units away when they request funding, which comes from private donations.

A recent $27,800 gift from NASCAR driver Tony Stewart helped place her organization "on the map," Jean says, and boosted the number of funding requests she receives.

So far this year, Vest 'NPDP has outfitted 96 police dogs, up from 80 last year, and 26 in 2006.

Aside from bullets and knives, the vests can protect the dogs from other weapons, like ice picks and screwdrivers.

Like the police departments, Vest 'NPDP is not impervious to the weak economy.

"It's been very slow, but still, police dogs need protection," Jean said. "We are scrambling to pull all of this together. We never turn down a department, we will just take their info and say that it may take a while."

Jean's next step, which could help set a precedent for the treatment of government dogs, is to pass a bill that will help outfit all working dogs in New Mexico with vests, booties and any other item that could provide a safer environment, Jean says.

"You hear that killing a police dog is a felony in some places, but then there aren't measures taken to ensure their initial protection," she said. "They are out there with the police officers doing the same job, facing the same risks, and they deserve this."

Booties have served police dogs in Dusseldorf, Germany well since they stepped out in blue plastic fiber shoes in the spring.

The booties are thought to lessen the potential for injury when the K-9s step on broken beer bottles, which often find their way to the cracks in the city's old cobblestone streets.

Military dogs currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have also benefited from an organization's donation of cooling vests, called "Chilly Dogs," as Pet Pulse previously reported.

The vests allow dogs to work for longer periods of time, but with more comfort, in the 100-plus degree heat.

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