Saving Lives, Doggy Style

It may not be as fancy as an Armani suit, but the German Shepherd, Ronin, the newest member of the Lexington County Sheriff's Department's K-9 Unit, may just be the town's most expensively dressed resident.

Seriously, do you know anyone else with a personally tailored $2,300 vest?

Lest you think Ronin is a clothes hound or some pampered pooch, the vest in question is actually not designed to make a fashion statement. Instead, it's the doggy version of a law enforcement officer's Kevlar bullet-proof vest, and it might someday save Ronin's life -- and perhaps even that of his handler.

Thanks to kind-hearted benefactors in Lexington, and increasingly financial donors throughout the state and nationally, the Lexington-based Heroes Vest Fund presented Ronin his very own armored -- and tailored -- vest Saturday evening at the 2011 Vest Fest fundraiser in Virginia Hylton Park behind Lexington's town hall. 

This the sixth vest donated to the sheriff's K-9 unit, and that means that all the at-risk pooches in the eight-dog unit that might find themselves in the line of fire will be far better protected. Heroes Vest Fund has previously donated body armor vests to K-9 Injas, who works with K-9 Deputy R.D. Longshore; K-9 Bayka, who works with K-9 Deputy Brian Hinz; K-9 Arcos, who works with K-9 Deputy Ted Xanthakis; and, K-9 Barut, who works with K-9 Deputy Shannon Radford, said Sheriff James R. Metts and Heroes Vest Fund founder and president Elaine Henderson of Lexington. The fund, noted Henderson, also has donated a vest to Lexington Police Department's lone K-9.

In addition to Heroes Vest Fund, Crossroads Animal Hospital previously donated money to buy a body armor vest for K-9 Gunter, who works with K-9 Deputy Adam Clayton. Gunter's vest was donated in memory of the Sheriff’s Department K-9 Bas, who passed away after years of valiant service.  

Metts told Patch that Henderson and her organization have been working with the department for two years to help equip the dogs with vests after she initially became interested in the K-9 Unit as a member of the sheriff's Citizens' Academy, designed to give civilians a better understanding of local law enforcement. 

The department just doesn't have the money to outfit the dogs, so Henderson's organization has been a blessing, Metts said.

"We just didn't have that money in our budget, but our animals are part of our department just like our other personnel and I'm delighted that the public, with Elaine's help and Heroes Vest Fund, has helped us put all these animals in these vests to save their lives," Metts said. "They're in jeopardy, too. They can be shot at, and we've had that."

Thankfully, Metts added, none of the department's dogs so far have been killed or seriously injured in the line of duty.

"These animals have a tremendous track record catching individuals," Metts continued. "We use them all the time. They're on call 24 hours, seven days a week. They do a tremendous job. I know with the vests they will be a lot safer. With society changing, the way it is now, people are getting meaner and they don't care about life, they don't even care about their own life much less other's lives, so helping protect these animals is fantastic."

Now that Heroes Vest Fund has outfitted Lexington county and town K-9s, Henderson says her nonprofit organization is ready to branch out to other counties and municipalities throughout the state and, eventually, the nation. 

"We have a waiting list of 20 dogs so far, she said. "So we've got a long way to go. But we do get donations as far as Washington, North Dakota, and even Alaska. So hopefully one day we'll be able to cross borders and go national but, of course, we're going to take care of our hometown first."

K-9 Unit Sgt. Derek Applegate has been Ronin's handler since February. The dog, he said, mostly handles narcotics detection and traffic patrol, among other duties. He's happy to know that his partner, well trained but still basically a puppy at just 23 months old, will have much greater protection.

"Usually when we're tracking he's a good 25 feet ahead of me," Applegate said. "So he's going to encounter the bad guy or the criminal before me. It's going to give him that life-saving protection in case someone has a gun or a knife. The other day we were tracking somebody who supposedly had an AK-47 -- that can get the hairs on the back of your neck standing up a little bit." 

To learn more about Heroes Vest Fund, or to make a donation, click here.