About the Campaign
Here’s how this equipment both helps Hawk and Officer Runnels on the job.
An in-squad kennel allows the K9 to be safely transported when on the job! It fits securely into the rear seat of the squad and provides roll-cage level protection while a K9 is at work, on the road, and away from home.
The door pop allows the K9 handler officer to remotely unlatch the door so their K9 may exit the squad car and come to their aid, should a call for service take a turn for the more dangerous; while, the heat alarm system monitors the interior air temperature of the squad car and sets off the sirens, lights, alarms, and rolls down the windows of the car to help ensure that a K9 doesn’t suffer from heat trauma if the temperature rises into a dangerous threshold.
A multi-threat vest protects against standard issue caliber rounds for common guns and offers additional protection for stabbing weapons, like prison shanks or other blunt force puncture objects. The vest is inserted into a carrier made of a rip-stop material that helps to deflect punctures as well. This vest provides the same level of protection that the human counterparts of these K9s are required to wear for their job.
K9 Hawk is a 2.5-year-old German Shepherd certified in Patrol, Tracking/Trailing, and Narcotics. He is partnered with Officer Gerald Runnels of the Kasson Police Dept. in MN. During his most recent certification, Hawk was awarded first place in Agility, second place in Article Search, and finished 6th overall out of 40 K9 Units. K9 Hawk has been very valuable in detecting numerous narcotics hidden in vehicles resulting in removing several thousand dollars of drug money off the street. He has also had success tracking suspects. One recent patrol incident was a vehicle pursuit in which the K9 team assisted their local Sheriff’s Office to locate four suspects who had fled a vehicle and who had scattered in different directions.
The current squad car is being updated and the existing equipment is not reusable. Officer Runnels will be forever grateful to Hero K9 for their assistance in awarding an In-squad Kennel and Door Pop & Heat Alarm System to make their new vehicle a fully functional K9 squad!
NOTE: The funds collected as part of this fundraiser will be allocated to the agency’s Equipment Grant Application with Hero K9 for their K9. Should the application status change and/or if donations received are in excess of the goal amount, donations will be directed to the organization’s general fund to provide additional equipment grants and cover operational costs and/or other business-related expenses.