Sheriff’s Office K-9 Gear Donation
Somerset County Sheriff Darrin Russo recognized several organizations for their generosity in donating protective gear for Somerset County K-9s. The gear included cooling vests for all seven K-9’s in the Sheriff’s Office, and ballistic vests (body armor) for K-9 Benning, K-9 Caesar, K-9 Casanova, K-9 Mac, K-9 Anna, and K-9 Patriot. The seventh dog, K-9 Basilone, is in the process of obtaining a new ballistic vest. The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office is extremely appreciative of all donations.
“K-9’s are instrumental in police work,” said Somerset County Sheriff Darrin Russo. “They can perform tasks far faster and they keep officers safe. With these donations, we can keep our K-9’s safe.”
K-9’s are used in police work to locate dangerous narcotics, find explosives and firearms, tracking and apprehending criminals, and help find a lost child or elderly person. In any of those circumstances, the dog’s safety or life could be in danger.
The following is more information about the donors:
Protecting K9 Heroes: Staci Goveia & the Dimarcantonio Family
Protecting K9 Heroes, through the generosity of the Dimarcantonio family, donated ballistic vests for Somerset County K-9 Anna and K-9 Patriot.
Out of respect for working K9s and the critical role they play in all aspects of Law Enforcement, Protecting K9 Heroes perpetuates the good health of working K9s and promotes the opportunity for the working dog AND their handler to come home safe after every shift.
Living for A Cause; Mary Stabile & Laura Quinn
Living For A Cause (LFAC) donated ballistic vests for K-9 Benning, K-9 Caesar, and K-9 Casanova. The organization also donated cooling vests for K-9 Anna, K-9 Basilone, K-9 Benning, K-9 Caesar, K-9 Casanova, K-9 Mac and K-9 Patriot. The Somerset County Sheriff’s office is extremely thankful for the donation from LFAC and their director Mary Stabile.
Through donor contributions, grants, sponsors, and fund-raising alliances with various for-profit ventures, LFAC creates streams of revenue to charitable groups in the form of tangible items for programs that focus on people, animal welfare, the arts and planet conservation.
Their “K-9 Bullet Proof Vest Project” is dedicated to protecting brave NJ K9 dogs. Funding for this program was made possible by private donors and from a grant from the Doris Day Foundation.
The Friends of Solo Foundation: James Wiater, and George’s Towing: Tony Alfano, Nicole Alfano & James Nobile
The Friends of Solo Foundation, through the generosity of George’s Garage and Towing, covered the entire purchase of K9 Mac’s ballistic vest. K9 MacGinley, a six-year-old German Shepherd certified in tracking and explosive detection, is named in honor of former Hunterdon County Detective Matthew McGinley.
The Friends of Solo Foundation, and its founder James Wiater, is dedicated to the protection of K9 officers by providing them with safety equipment such as ballistic body armor, field trauma kits, and oxygen kits. These items are essential for the health and safety of the K9’s who are asked to be the front line of protection every day.
The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office is incredibly grateful to the Friends of Solo Foundation and George’s Garage and Towing of Cranbury for their donation.
