All Sacramento Police K-9s Now Wear Bulletproof Vests Following Young Boy's Mission To Protect Them
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Sacramento police K-9s are now sporting some new protective gear all thanks to a 12-year-old philanthropist.
Every K-9 officer in the department will now wear a ballistic vest in the field just like their human handlers. This life-saving gift comes after Sacramento police K-9 Ranger was stabbed by a suspect nearly four months ago in Tahoe Park.
Ranger has recovered and is now back on duty, but now, he's patrolling the streets with an added layer of protection.
We got a first-hand look Wednesday at the new bulletproof body armor that is five times stronger than steel and protects all of the police dog's vital organs.
The department calls the gear a game-changer.
"They're incredibly important," one officer said. "They're a vital piece of life-saving equipment for the dogs, just like the vests that we wear."
Brady's K-9 Fund donated all of the vests. The non-profit was started by 12-year-old Brady Snakovsky from Ohio. He got the idea to outfit all K-9s with a vest after seeing a police dog on TV wasn't wearing one like his human partner.
The price tag for these vests isn't cheap. Each vest is custom-made for the dog and runs for $2,000 each.