Vest-A-Dog

An Open Letter to All K-9 Handlers from Wisconsin Vest-A-Dog, Inc.

In speaking with a couple of departments regarding getting community grant forms from local chain stores, we have found that were some misconceptions about this program.  We thought that perhaps this may be a common misunderstanding, and wanted to share the following information:

1)      It’s true that we have asked all of the K-9 officers to pick up “community grant forms” from their local Sam’s Club, Walmart and Target stores and send them to us so we can apply for grant money to purchase a bullet/stab-proof vest for their K-9s at our cost.

2)      It’s not true that any grant money we receive will allow your department to receive less grant money from the store for different purposes if you apply for a separate grant also. We are separate non-profit organizations applying for different grant money for different purposes. We have been assured by these department stores of the above. They give out many grants to many, many organizations. We have also been assured that the fact that both grants would be used for the same K-9 unit would have no bearing on whether or not we both would receive grants or how much the dollar amounts would be. We are a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to provide bullet/stab-proof vests for every K-9 officer in Wisconsin. Your application for grant money to purchase other items or services for your department does not overlap. We would never interfere with your opportunity to receive such.

3)      It is true that we need to get the “community grant forms” from the stores located closest to each department as the grant monies do have to be used for said “community.” It would be very hard for us to find out which stores are located the closest to each department and then drive to each of these stores around the state to pick them up. That’s why we asked if the officers would lend us a hand.

We want to ensure that everyone is comfortable working with us to protect their K-9 officers.  If you have any questions or concerns whatsoever, please feel free to contact Donna Morgan, Board President, at 752-3539 or by email at vestadogwisconsin@yahoo.com.  Also, please check out our website at www.wivestadog.org.  Thank you all for the difficult and amazing job you do each and every day.