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K9 Jagger, with his new bullet-proof vest, and Officer Eric Disch. (Photo: Eric Disch)
Police dogs, like their human counterparts, have a dangerous job. They apprehend suspected criminals and sniff out illegal drugs and weapons. Sometimes this leads to conflict; as result, police dogs suffer stab or gunshot wounds every year.
Sadly, many law enforcement agencies don’t have the funds to purchase K9 body armor. But thanks to donations from faculty, staff, and students at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), a Madison police dog is fighting crime with the added protection of a bullet-proof vest.
Each month, the SVM holds a fund drive for a local charity, most of them benefitting animals. In March 2015, the school collected donations to purchase a vest for Jagger, a two-year-old German Shepherd who serves as a K9 with the Madison Police Department (MPD) and is also a UW Veterinary Care client.
Coordinated by SVM Facilities Manager Karen Mier, the drive garnered more than enough to cover the cost of the vest. The funds were donated to Wisconsin Vest-a-Dog, a nonprofit dedicated to providing protective vests for every police dog in the state, which purchased the vest for Jagger and put the remainder toward body armor for another MPD K9, Slim.
These are the third and fourth sets of canine body armor that SVM students and employees have helped purchase. Mier previously coordinated the collection of funds to vest police dogs with the Adam’s County Sheriff’s Department and the UW–Madison Campus Police.
The generosity of another organization originally brought Jagger to the MPD. He and the specially outfitted squad car he rides in with his handler, Officer Eric Disch, were donated by the BerbeeWalsh Foundation, which was founded by Karen Walsh, a member of the SVM’s Board of Visitors, and her husband, Jim Berbee. The foundation also paid for the month-long training required to prepare Jagger for service.
Nik Hawkins
