Bluffton Police Department’s K9 Kato received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.

The vest was embroidered with the sentiment “In memory of K9 Ty, California City Police Department.”

The donation to provide one protective vest for a law enforcement K9 is $950. Each vest has a value between $1,744 – $2,283, and a five-year warranty and an average weight of 4-5 pounds.

Kato joined the Bluffton police department this spring after graduating from a month-long and intense training period with its handler, Tyler Hochstetler, a member of the department.

Kato’s $17,000 purchase came entirely from community donations last fall.

At that time Ryan Burkholder, police chief explained that there are five objectives for adding a K-9 unit to the department and the most important is to keep drugs off the streets and out of the community.

“The growing opioid and drug problem in our area continues to filter into Bluffton despite our best attempts to stop it,” he told The Icon.

He added that a K-9 is able to assist officers by performing open-air sniffs of vehicles for narcotics, including marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and all the derivatives.

In addition, the dual-purpose canine will assist officers in track and search for missing persons, track and apprehend criminals, perform drug, building and area searches, perform article searches and recovery and assist in officer protection. 

Vested Interest in K9s is open to dogs actively employed in the U.S. with law enforcement or related agencies who are certified and at least 20 months of age. New K9 graduates, as well as K9s with expired vests, are eligible to participate.