Mills Police Department’s K9 Archer Has Received Body Armor
Mills Police Department’s K9 Archer has received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Archer’s vest is sponsored by Bob and Donna Tiefenbach of Macomb, MI and embroidered with the sentiment “Gift of protection provided by Reggie and Bam Bam”.
Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. is a 501c (3) charity located in East Taunton, MA whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. The non-profit was established in 2009 to assist law enforcement agencies with this potentially lifesaving body armor for their four-legged K9 officers. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provided over 2,400 protective vests, in 50 states, through private and corporate donations, at a cost of over 1.9 million dollars. All vests are custom made in the USA by Armor Express in Central Lake, MI.
The program is open to dogs actively employed in the U.S. with law enforcement or related agencies who are certified and at least 20 months of age. New K9 graduates, as well as K9s with expired vests, are eligible to participate.
The donation to provide one protective vest for a law enforcement K9 is $1,050.00. Each vest has a value between $1,795 – $2,234 and a five-year warranty, and an average weight of 4-5 lbs. There is an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States. For more information or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call 508-824-6978. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provides information, lists events, and accepts tax-deductible donations of any denomination at www.vik9s.org or mailed to P.O. Box 9 East Taunton, MA 02718.
K9 Archer and his handler, Officer Acord, along with the rest of the Mills Police Department would like to express our gratitude to Vested Interest in K9s, Inc for providing such a great service to our department and K9 programs across the United States. We would like to especially thank Bob and Donna Tiefenbach for their incredibly kind and generous donation that made K9 Archer’s vest possible, and we would like for the Tiefenbachs to know that we have had multiple community members contact us and want to express their thanks to you for helping to protect our K9.
On behalf of the Mills Police Department and law enforcement agencies across the country, thank you. With all of the hate violence towards law enforcement in our country, it truly means a lot to know that there are still private organizations and citizens of this great country that still support law enforcement.
See the PDF version of this press release HERE.
