STRONGSVILLE, Ohio (WSVN) — A 9-year-old boy has raised over $80,000 to purchase bulletproof vests for police K-9s.
Brady Snakovsky is on a mission to ensure police K-9s don’t go into the field unprotected. According to Fox 13, Brady noticed a police K-9 didn’t have a bulletproof vest while he was watching one of his favorite shows, “Live PD.”
“Once I told Brady that they were not automatically issued a vest like their human partner, he decided he wanted to buy a vest for a K-9 who didn’t have one,” said Leah Tornabene, Brady’s mom.
However, Brady soon learned from his mother that they can cost over $1,000.
Undeterred, Brady and his mother started a GoFundMe page and began a mission to raise the money.
According to the GoFundMe page, Brady even began selling chocolate and collected donations at community events.
Ultimately, Brady was able to raise enough to buy four vests for K-9s with the Ohio State Troopers.
However, Brady’s mission has continued, and he has now raised over $80,000 to outfit K-9s from around the country with bulletproof vests.
“I hope to provide as many vests as I possibly can to the very deserving officers that are out there,” he said on his GoFundMe page.
The vests are specially designed so they provide protection for the dogs while regulating their body heat and allowing the complete freedom of movement. That way, the dogs can wear them for their entire shift, instead of just in dangerous situations.
“When we hand one out it’s great to know that’s one less K-9 hitting the streets unprotected,” said Tornabene.
According to his website, Brady’s organization has so far provided 84 K-9 officers with vests, and another 51 officers are on the waiting list.
For more information on Brady’s fund, click here. To donate to his GoFundMe, click here.
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