Oakland County Sheriff K9 Officer Odin to Receive Body Armor

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office K9 Odin will receive a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Odin’s vest is sponsored by an Anonymous Donor and will be embroidered with the sentiment “Born to Love – Trained to Serve – Loyal Always.” Delivery is expected within eight to ten weeks.

K9 Odin

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit consists of 15 dogs with capabilities which include explosive and fire accelerant detection, narcotic detection, tracking, area searches, building searches, handler protection, and crowd control. The K-9 Unit assists the Narcotic Enforcement Team, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Marshal Service, the US Secret Service, the FBI Oakland County Gang and Violent Crime Task Force, and the South Oakland Narcotics Intelligence Consortium (SONIC) on drug investigations throughout the tri-county area.

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 officers. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provided over 2,600 protective vests in 50 states through private and corporate donation at a cost of over 2.1 million dollars.

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 a protective vest for one law enforcement K9 is $1,050.00. Each vest has a value between $1,795 – $2,234 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.

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