Dane County K9 Will Have Special Protection

November 19, 2008
Contact: Elise Schaffer, PIO Phone: (608) 284-6142 Email: schaffer@co.dane.wi.us

Thanks to the initiative of 12-year-old Hunter Schultz of Middleton, a Dane County K9 will soon have a protective vest to wear when he’s working. At Thursday night’s county board meeting, Supervisor Paul Rusk will lead the board in passing a resolution to approve the donation valued at $840.00. Several months ago, Hunter learned of the dangers law enforcement K9’s face in their work environment. She also learned that, just like their human handlers, by wearing a ballistic vest they could be safer. Hunter began her money collecting campaign in August, and in just over a week, she had enough to purchase the vest. “Since our K9 Unit is largely funded by private donations, citizen’s like Hunter are invaluable to the organizations success. On behalf of everyone at the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, I thank her for her hard work and support,” said Sheriff David Mahoney. The Dane County K9 Unit currently has 5 dogs trained for various duties. The new ballistic vest purchased by Hunter has been designated for Thor, a German shepherd who has worked for the Sheriff’s Office since January of 2007. Thor, whose handler is Deputy Jay O’Neil, is a patrol and narcotics dog. Thor and Deputy O’Neil are also members of the Sheriff’s Office Tactical Response Team (TRT), a role that puts him in potentially high-risk situations. The Dane County Board of Supervisors will recognize Hunter when they pass the resolution at 7:00 pm on Thursday, November 20th in room 201 of the City County Building in Madison. ###