Vested Interest in K-9 Officers

Many who followed the shootings in Herkimer and Mohawk in Upstate New York last week, which culminated in a shootout between police officers and 64-year-old Kurt Myers and left five dead and two wounded, are aware that one of the fallen was K-9 officer Ape.

Ape, a two-year-old German Shepherd from the Czech Republic that had just begun his FBI career February 25 this year, after completing training in Oct., did his duty and protected his fellow human officers but was fatally shot.

Many animal lovers and advocates who left comments lamenting the canine officer's death asked whether he was wearing a vest. The questions sparked a dialogue about how expensive bullet- and stab-proof vests are, so a few days later, it was kind of great to see this wonderful deal on Groupon:

There's still one day left, so if you see this, please check it out and if you see this too late, then please be sure to check out Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., a nonprofit fund-raising organization created by Sandy Marcal to raise awareness and funds to bulletproof vests for canine officers.

Ape's name will be added to a memorial wall at Quantico. Rest in peace, beautiful one.
November 17, 2010 - March 14, 2013