A Florida sheriff’s office received a new set of K9 bulletproof vests thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor.
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office tweeted out photos of the gifted vests bestowed upon the K9 unit.
“Our K9’s got vests!” the sheriff’s office wrote. “Thanks to an anonymous donor, each K-9 now has a personalized ballistic vest.”
Deputies from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office say the donations will help keep the K9s safe and are designed so the animals can wear them at all times while they are working, WCJB reported.
WOGX reported that not only will the vests keep the dogs safe, but they will also come personalized with the dog’s name printed on the outside.
“They really are part of your family, they’re your partner, they have certain tasks that they’re trained to perform but all in all they’re part of the family, they’re part of the sheriff’s office. They go to work just like you and I do,” Sergeant Michael Hurlocker with the K-9 unit said.
The sheriff’s office said it would be able to purchase 12 vests that cost around $1,200 a piece with the funds from the donation.
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office is not the first law enforcement agency to benefit from K9 vest donations or money to be used for that purpose. A nine-year-old boy started a GoFundMe page back in January 2018 and raised nearly $98,000 to buy bulletproof vests for police K9s.