Bullet-Proof Puppy Present
Published: June 1, 2006
Thanks to a group of elementary school students, Harrisonburg’s newest police dog will have a little more protection for what can at times be a dangerous job.
On Tuesday, Stone Spring Elementary students gave Trigger, a black German Shepherd, a custom-made bulletproof vest - a gift to honor their retiring principal, Bruce Hamilton.
Trigger’s $550 navy-blue vest, which says “POLICE” and weighs about eight pounds, is the last vest needed to equip all five Harrisonburg K-9 dogs, says Sgt. Rod Pollard, who works with the dogs.
Hamilton will retire after 33 years in education, including 13 as Stone Spring’s principal. Later this month, the newly retired principal will become a Property and Evidence Technician with the department.
“I just felt like this is a gift that will keep on giving,” said Hamilton, 60, of Massanutten. “Rather than students planting a tree or buying a bench, things that will grow stagnant, the vest will protect the dog for a long, long time.”
Trigger offered the Daily News-Record little comment about its new equipment, but he wagged his tail to show his appreciation.
Not The First Time
Trigger’s vest is not the first that Stone Spring students have donated to the department.
Last year, the students bought Nikki, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, a bulletproof vest as a community service event, said Robin Dayton, a school secretary.
The Harrisonburg Police Department has five male police dogs, which officers use for drug searches and other police work, Pollard said. Unlike the rest of the department’s members, dogs only wear the vest when entering dangerous situations; however, they always wear a police badge attached to their collars.
At less than a year old, Trigger is the department’s youngest dog. He completed his training about two months ago, Pollard said. No Harrisonburg dogs have ever been shot in the line of duty, but last year in Charlottesville a police dog was shot and killed on the job.
“The vests are a good thing,” Pollard said. “We’re thankful to the students for buying this last one for us.”
Student Suggestions
Student Council Association leaders, who presented Trigger’s vest, offered the Daily News-Record advice about police dogs.
Mandy, a 9-year-old, said her dachshund would be a good police dog because “he can run really fast and he bites lots of people.”
Others, including Michelle Waligora, 10, the council’s vice president and daughter of Martha and Andrew Waligora, agreed that golden retrievers would be great police dogs because they “wouldn’t quit for anything”
And other students suggested bloodhounds make good police dogs because “they have a nice sense of smell.”
Even Kendall Bailey, 11, who is a self-proclaimed cat-lover, said she was glad the students purchased the vest - even if Trigger was a dog.
“I’m really excited that we get to help the police department and the dogs,” said Kendall, the council’s president and daughter of Ray and Janine Bailey. “We like to help the community.”
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