July 9, 2002 - Press Release

ArlingtonDogs CONTRIBUTES ANOTHER K-9 BULLETPROOF VEST TO THE ARLINGTON COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT

Arlington, VA, July 9, 2002 Continuing a tradition, ArlingtonDogs today donated a bulletproof vest for use by the newest member of the Arlington County Police Department s K-9 team.

We are delighted to support the efforts of the police department and its canines, and we thank the residents of Arlington County who contributed to the fund. Your money is going right back into the community, in the form of enhanced safety measures, said Lois Trumbull, Treasurer of ArlingtonDogs.

Two years ago, ArlingtonDogs conducted a fundraising drive on behalf of ACPD s K-9 unit, raising sufficient money in its Vested Interest Fund to purchase canine bulletproof vests for all the dogs on the job at the time. The dogs had previously been using modified, cast-off human vests. In addition to bomb- and drug-sniffing, police use canines to go into dangerous situations (such as houses that have been broken into, or other incidents where the situation is unknown). Police dogs face the threat of stabbing, beating, and shooting when on the job, all of which are mitigated by the vests.

ACPD has since retired two of its dogs and the vest donated today constructed to fit the specifications of the individual dog protects Rico, a three-and-a-half year old Belgian Malinois specially trained in explosives detection. Rico patrols with Corporal Thorpe Lichtenberg, a 15-year veteran of the ACPD. This vest will allow me to focus more completely on the tasks at hand, knowing that my partner is protected, said Lichtenberg.

ArlingtonDogs purchased the vest from Blue Ridge Arsenal of Chantilly, Virginia, which had also been the source of the original K-9 vests the organization acquired and donated to the police department. We are proud of our role in helping both protect ACPD police officers and their K-9 partners, and we thank ArlingtonDogs for organizing this effort, said Harry Merchant, Manager of Blue Ridge Arsenal. And in keeping with the spirit of ArlingtonDogs and its mission, we are donating back 5% of the cost of the vest back to the Vested Interest Fund to help in future endeavors.