New members of Athens-Clarke police K-9 Unit to receive protective vests

Handlers of police dogs on patrol in Athens now have a little less to fear should they ever engage a suspect in a shootout.

Athens-Clarke County police recently doubled the size of their K-9 Unit from three to six dogs and soon these rookie dogs will be outfitted with protective body armor.

The Georgia Police K9 Foundation is donating soft-body armor outfits, labeled “Streetfighters,” to the police department in its project to provide 149 armored vests to K-9 units across the state.

“They are called Streetfighters, but that’s mainly because it’s like an everyday wearing vest similar to what officers use," said Kyle Briley, the founder and president of the K9 Foundation. "It’s a vest they can wear all day without becoming overheated or weighting them down,” said Briley, who is an officer in the Statesboro Police Department.

The new vests are described by the foundation as bullet resistant and able to shield the dog’s vital organs from assaults during apprehensions.

Fortunately in Athens, the K-9 Unit has not had any serious injuries or close calls with its dogs, according to Unit supervisor Sgt. Scott Blair.

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According to figures from Officer Down Memorial Page, the leading causes of deaths for K-9s are heat stroke, gunfire and car crashes.

"The No. 1 cause for K-9 death in the state of Georgia is heat exhaustion," Briley said. "A lot of people think it's because they are left in hot cars, but it's really a combination of that and becoming overheated while while working and they get heatstroke."

To combat that issue, Briley said training classes have been put on recently in north and south Georgia to teach officers how to detect the signs of heatstroke.

"We're doing our best to help eliminate those numbers," he said, adding that training is also ongoing on reducing the number of dog deaths by gunfire.

"Sometimes these dogs are sent into situations that maybe they shouldn't have been sent in the first place," said Briley, a K-9 officer himself who recently obtained another dog after working with one for more than eight years.

Athens-Clarke police's newest dogs, and recipients of the Streetfighters, are Mark and Sarge, both Belgium Malinois, and Legend, a Dutch Shepherd.

“We supplement the police department county-wide and support not only patrol, but other specialized units,” Blair said.

“Providing body armor for the K-9s is extremely important,” he said. “The K-9s are often put in very dangerous situations. Providing them with the appropriate equipment is essential.”

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Blair said that since the unit was formed there have been numerous successful missions by the dogs, including finding evidence in crime investigations, missing persons and locating dangerous drugs.

The departments' first three dogs are Tina and Vilma, both Belgian Malinois, and Bruno, a German Shepherd. Each dog lives with its handler. Blair said the officers form bonds with the dogs as they become a members of the officers' families.

The K9 Foundation is a nonprofit created to raise awareness on the benefits of how these units contribute to their communities.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens K-9 Unit gets armored vests from Georgia Police K9 Foundation