Protecting K-9 officers while serving their community

COSHOCTON - One might not first think of it, but K-9 officers need just as much protection out in the field as their human counterparts.

The Coshocton County Sheriff's Office recently received a grant for bullet and stab-proof vests for K-9 Officers Henata, teamed with Det. Dave Stone, and Chili, teamed with Dep. Steve Mox. The vests also have loops in case officers would need to repel with a dog, such as out of a house during an emergency or over a cliff or ravine during a search mission.

The vests are valued between $1,744 and $2,283 with a five year warranty and an average weight of four to five pounds. The vests were made possible through a charitable donation of $950 each from Vested Interests in K9s, a non-profit organization in East Taunton, Massachusetts, that works with local law enforcement agencies to provide K-9 officer protection. Since 2009, they have provided more than 3,000 protective vests to departments in all 50 states through more than $5.7 million in donations. There are an estimated 30,000 law enforcement canines across the country.

"Our dogs are integrated with our SWAT Team. They go out on high-risk calls. The dogs get called for the most high-risk calls, if not the most high-risk calls, that we handle," Stone said. "They're called to assist on suicidal people, fleeing felons, people who have weapons."

Henata is a Dutch Shepherd that has been with the sheriff's office since 2015, replacing former officer Dingo. Chili is a Belgian Malinois that started in 2017. Stone said Dingo had an older style of vest, but it did not provide the protection of the new ones.

While the new dogs have not been in any dire situations, Stone said he and Dingo were in a shots fired situation once that made him glad Dingo had a vest. He said a suspect came out of a house and fired in their direction with a shotgun. He said dealing with suicidal people with weapons can also be dicey. 

"That's a last resort. It's not something we want to have to do, but if it comes down to it and we have to deploy the dog, they would be protected," Stone said of dealing with suicidal individuals. 

Both are dual purpose dogs, meaning they are trained to find drugs as well as tracking of missing people and criminal suspects and evidence searching, like finding firearms and cell phones from burglaries. Training demonstrations are also a big part of what the unit does in order to educate the public and form good relationships.

Stone said demonstrations are their favorite activities, they've even done birthday parties for children who are interested in law enforcement or dogs.

"It's such a good time to go out and educate people, show them that the dogs are social," Stone said. "Especially with kids, it's a good way to bond with law enforcement and bridge the gap. A lot of youngsters these days don't hear highly of law enforcement."

However, local support has always been strong and Stone said a lot of what keeps their unit running such as equipment for their cruisers and training comes from local donations.

"Our community has been very supportive. I think every organization in Coshocton County in one fashion or another has supported us," Stone said. 

"You can't ask for a better community in supporting our canines," Mox added.

Those interested in learning more about Vested Interest in K9s or making a contribution, can call 508-824-6978 or go to vik9s.org. The program is open to dogs actively employed in the U.S. with law enforcement or related agencies who are certified and are at least 20-months-old. New K9 graduates and those with expired vests are eligible to participate. 

llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com

@llhayhurst

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