Galesburg City Township issued the following announcement on Jan. 10.
Galesburg Police Department’s K9 Zeus will receive a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Zeus’ vest is sponsored by Nancy Pyron of Huson, Montana and will be embroidered with the sentiment "Born to Love-Trained to Serve-Loyal Always". Delivery is expected within eight to ten weeks.
Zeus was acquired by the Galesburg Police Department in August 2019 and is 2 years old. He works alongside Officer Jacob Taylor and specializes in both the detection of illegal drugs as well as tracking of people and articles. Office Taylor and K9 Zeus recently completed ten weeks of training in Decatur, IL to be certified by the State of Illinois as a full-service canine team.
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 and other 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. provided over 3,500 U.S. made, custom fitted, NIJ certified protective vests, in 50 states, through private and corporate donations, at a value of $6.9 million dollars.
"We are very grateful to Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. and Nancy Pyron for the opportunity to obtain a protective vest for our K9 officer," said Police Chief Russell Idle. "K9 officers play a valued role on our team and keeping them safe on the job is very important to our department."
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 a law enforcement K9 is $950.00. Each vest has a value between $1,744 – $2,283 and a five-year warranty, and an average weight of 4-5 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.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Galesburg City Township
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