Rotary Club helps out Monroe K-9 unit
Published 11:10 pm Tuesday, March 2, 2010
MONROE — The Monroe Police Department’s K-9 unit has it rough.
In 2008, the unit still had four dogs: two drug-sniffing Labradors and two German shepherds used as trackers.
The unit will be down two dogs by this spring, however, and the city budget doesn’t have enough money to replace the animals.
Enter the Rotary Club of Monroe’s K-9 Krusade.
Collette Reams, the Krusade’s lead coordinator, said the effort will try to raise $120,000 in about three years for police dogs.
The money, Reams said, has to come from somewhere. “It may as well come from us,” he said.
Problems for the K-9 unit began in 2008. That’s when Bismarck, a tracking dog, succumbed to meningitis. His vacancy went unfilled in the cash-strapped city.
Later this spring, the department will lose one of its drug-sniffing dogs, Brutus. The black Labrador turns 10 this year and will retire.
“He’s at the end of his working years,” Monroe police spokeswoman Debbie Willis said. “He needs to go home and be a dog.”
The loss of the animals came to the attention of some Rotarians last year. The group wanted to buy new dogs for the city, but soon learned it wasn’t as simple as a trip to the pet store.
“It’s not just getting them,” Reams said. “It’s maintaining them, all the way down to food.”
The K-9 Krusade now aims to raise enough money to cover the full cost of the dogs, paying for kennels, officer training and veterinarian bills, among other expenses.
“There is quite a bit of money invested into having a dog on your police force,” Willis said.
Fundraising efforts began earlier this year when a man swung by the police department to hand- deliver a $5 donation. A pet store — Sam’s Cats &Dogs, Naturally — volunteered to donate food for the lifespan of a dog.
Reams hopes to expand on that early support with more elaborate fundraisers and grant-writing efforts. Ultimately, she hopes the K-9 Krusade will be able to sponsor two or three dogs in the coming years.
“If we can let the city concentrate on taking care of our human officers and let us take care of K-9 officers, then we have a beautiful partnership,” Reams said.
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com.
You can help
The K-9 Krusade is collecting money to sponsor the Monroe Police Department’s K-9 unit. Donations can be sent to K-9 Krusade, c/o Rotary Club of Monroe, P.O. Box 871, Monroe, WA 98272, or made online at tinyurl.com/K9KrusadeFacebook. Look for the PayPal link under the site’s links tab. Include your contact information to receive a tax receipt.
Learn more: Visit tinyurl.com/K9KrusadeFacebook or e-mail k9krusademonroe@comcast.net.
