K9 Miso from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office will receive a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.
K9 Miso’s vest will be embroidered with the sentiment “In memory of Rocco Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.” Delivery is expected within eight to 10 weeks.
Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. is a 501c (3) charity, located in East Taunton, Ma., whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests amongst other means of assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. The non-profit was established in 2009 to assist law enforcement agencies with this potentially lifesaving body armor for their four-legged K9 officers. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. has provided over 1,800 protective vests in 49 states to various K9s. The vests were made available through private and corporate donations, at a cost of over 1.6 million dollars. All vests are custom made in the United States by Armor Express, located in Central Lake, Mi.
The program is open to dogs actively employed in the U.S. with law enforcement or related agencies who are certified and at least 20 months of age. New K9 graduates, as well as K9s with expired vests, are eligible to participate.
The donation to provide one protective vest for law enforcement K9 is $1,050. Each vest has a value between $1,795 – $2,234, a five-year warranty and an average weight of four to five lbs. There is an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States. For more information or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call (508) 824-6978. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provides information, lists events and accepts tax-deductible donations of any denomination at www.vik9s.org or mailed to P.O. Box 9 East Taunton, Ma. 02718.
K9 Miso joined the Madison County Sheriff’s Office in July of 2015 and was assigned to Sgt. Jarrod Lauth and the Drug Task Force. Miso became certified as a full patrol K9 on Feb. 15 and is a great addition to the K9 program in Madison County. With the assistance and generous donation from Vested Interest in K9s, K9 Miso will now be better protected while serving the citizens of Madison County. This is the third vest donated to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office K9s from this organization and the sheriff’s office voiced their gratitude to have such a wonderful program to protect their K9s.