Small Town News

Seahawks player, nonprofit donate vest to Sheriff's Office dog

---

Christmas came early for one Mason County canine last week.

A Mason County Sheriffs Office patrol dog recently received a donated Kevlar vest thanks to nonprofit group All K-9s Go to Heaven and a Seattle Seahawks player.

According to the Sheriffs Office, the nonprofit's founder, Marti Tennant, worked with a Seahawks player to purchase and donate the $2,300 bulletproof vest. The player wished to remain anonymous.

Sheriffs Office patrol dog Solo, who works with deputy Justin Cotte, will receive the vest, according to the Sheriffs Office. Solo is a 3-year-old German shepherd.

All three Sheriffs Office patrol dogs now have bulletproof vests, said Sgt. Trevor Severance, who runs the program.

"They're very important," he said. "We haven't had an incident recently but every time we put (the dogs) out after somebody, we don't know if they're armed or not."

All K-9's Go to Heaven is a

Washington-based nonprofit organization that helps acquire gear and equipment for law enforcement and military K-9 units.

Mason County Sheriff Casey Salisbury said Tennant's program has donated many dog-related items to the Sheriffs Office, including chew toys, vehicle cages and most recently, the Kevlar vest.

"She has donated a lot of things for our office, and she does that for agencies statewide," Salisbury said.

The Sheriffs Office K-9 Unit is funded entirely by donations. The Sheriffs Office has three patrol dogs, one narcotic-sniffing dog and an education dog.

"The only way we get these sort of things is through our citizens," Salisbury said.



Copyright 2014 Shelton-Mason County Journal, Shelton, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

More from Shelton-Mason County Journal