Business

Apollo Beach-Based Nonprofit Provides Protective Wear For Police Dogs

Don Buckley loves big dogs, and he has always had friends in law enforcement. That combination of interests led him to start a nonprofit organisation in Haines City in 2015, two years after he and his wife, Lauren, moved to Polk County from Trenton, N.J., two years earlier. They recently relocated to Apollo Beach.

Called Tri County K-9 Association Inc., the group has a mission of providing free, bullet-proof body armour for dogs in any law enforcement agency with canine units. The nonprofit raises funds from the public to cover the cost of the vests, which are then supplied at no charge to canine units agreeing to use them.

The Kevlar® vests protect law-enforcement dogs from being shot or stabbed in critical areas of their bodies. "They're free and proven to save lives just like the protective vests deputies and officers wear," Buckley said. "Our current challenge is getting law enforcement agencies to agree to use them."

Buckley said one issue may be the heat in Florida. "We're working with a guy in Lake County to develop a light, cooling vest to go along with the Kevlar vest," Buckley said. Buckley got the idea, his wife said, from a friend in New Jersey named Michael Luccesi, who works as a canine officer in Trenton.

"He inspired me to form a similar organisation to Capital K-9 Association, which he started up there," Buckley said. Per that group's website, almost 2,000 law enforcement dogs have been lost in the line of duty "as a result of inadequate or unavailable body armour." The cost of each Kevlar vest is $2,000, which again is paid for through private donations. Buckley also offers portable first-aid kits for officers to treat a dog's wound on the scene that include items like QuikClot and bandages that range in cost from $100 to $300 each, depending on what's in them.

He also offers Ace Hot-N-Pop® Pro monitoring systems that are installed in canine patrol cars, which measure temperatures inside and outside the vehicle and alerts an officer by activating the cruiser's siren and triggering its lights when the dog's life is threatened. Some systems also lower the windows and set off fans installed in the back seat.

These systems can definitely save lives, Buckley said.