Kevlar for canines

Elise Gee

Although the mere mention of his name should be enough to stop a speeding

bullet, even Nero is in need of a little protection.

In this case, Nero isn’t the notoriously cruel Roman emperor, he’s a

police dog in the K-9 unit of the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Two Costa Mesa residents, Jana Herbert and Casey Donahue, are raising

money to outfit Nero and Costa Mesa’s other police dog, Bart, with

bulletproof vests to protect them in the line of duty. They also hope to

buy vests for six other dogs in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach.

The two have already purchased a training vest for the police departments

to use until they can raise the full $3,245 needed for all eight vests.

Herbert and Donahue were inspired to start a local “Vest a Dog” program

after reading about a 10-year-old Oceanside girl’s efforts in a magazine.

The story conjured up painful personal memories for Donahue. At 5 years

old, Donahue’s overtrained German shepherd, Thor, was donated to the

local police department in Iowa. Four years later, Thor was shot and

killed by a bank robber.

Donahue can’t help but think that if Thor was wearing a bulletproof vest

at the time, he would have lived to enjoy the rest of his doggy years.

In Costa Mesa, the many duties assigned to Nero and Bart include building

and vehicle searches and sniffing out drugs.

“If the police officers can have a vest, why not the dogs?” Donahue

asked. “They’re very often the first units sent into a situation.”

Lt. Allen Huggins, who supervises Costa Mesa’s canine unit, said he

thinks the program makes sense.

The vests, which sometimes cause limited mobility and create a risk of

overheating, have already been tried out in Costa Mesa, Huggins said.

“I think it’s greatly appreciated that citizens would want to take this

time and effort to make sure our canines have the proper safety

equipment,” he said.

To donate to the fund, call (714) 478-2738.