Mountain Home Police Patrol K-9 Benga receives a donation

       The Mountain Home Police Department's K-9 Benga recently received a bullet-and-stab-proof vest donation from PetArmor, Perrigo Animal Health and Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. Mountain Home Police Chief Carry Manual says the K-9 team and the police department appreciate the donation of the protective vest. In most cases, law enforcement agencies don't have the budget to purchase K-9 protective vests because they cost $1,050 each.
     Benga has been employed with the department since May of 2010 and his handler, Officer Jonathan Griffin, has been employed with MHPD since June of 2005. When Benga’s prior K-9 handler left employment with the Department, in February of 2012, Griffin became the K-9's new handler. Since then, both have worked the streets of Mountain Home as a team providing officer safety, making drug arrests, tracking suspects, and making appearances for public demonstration of the program.
     Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is to provide bullet-and-stab-protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the country. They began working with law enforcement agencies in 2000 to coordinate efforts between the agencies, vest sponsorships, fundraising events and the media within Massachusetts. In 2011, efforts were expanded to assist police dogs throughout the U.S. Over 2300 law enforcement dogs in all 50 states have received ballistic body armor from Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. To learn more visit http://www.vik9s.org/.