K9 Beny and K9 Tyr of the Cranston Police Department will receive armored vests to protect them from bullets and stab wounds, the department said in press releases earlier this week.
The vests are a donation from the non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s and is expected to be delivered within ten weeks, police said. The vests will be inscribed with the words, “In memory of K9 Zeus,” in honor of a police dog who died last year after a sudden illness.
Cranston Police currently have four K9s, the department said.
“We reiterate that K9 safety and protection is critical to our agency given the extremely precarious, hazardous and dangerous situations these dogs are deployed in,” Major Todd Patalano said.
Vested Interest in K9s’ mission is to provide lifesaving body armor to law enforcement dogs, the statement said. The nonprofit has provided over 6,225 vests across the country since 2009.
Last year, the non-profit donated 531 K9 vests to police departments nationally — the most in any single year, said Sandy Marcal, president and founder of Vested Interest.
Marcal said protective vests are not required by municipal laws, and individual police departments decide if their K9s should have them. For that reason, she couldn’t estimate what share of K9s around the country wear protective vests.
“Lots of people love these dogs and support what they do, and just want to keep them protected,” Marcal said. “These dogs are pretty special.”
