Montgomery County Humane Society Donates Lifesaving Vests to Police K-9 Unit and Unveils New Mobile Adoption Unit

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Contact: Heather Bancroft
Humane Education and Public Relations Director
Montgomery County Humane Society, Inc.
(301) 279-1023

For Immediate Release: August 11, 1999

Montgomery County Humane Society Donates
Lifesaving Vests to Police K-9 Unit and
Unveils New Mobile Adoption Unit

The Montgomery County Humane Society (MCHS) presented 21 bulletproof vests to local K-9 units at a press conference at the Montgomery County Animal Shelter today. Police K-9 dogs from the Montgomery County Police, Montgomery County Park Police and the City of Takoma Park received the vests which will safeguard them against many types of ballistics and slashes. Margaret Zanville, president of the MCHS, made the presentation and said, "We at the Montgomery County Humane Society are only too happy to offer any protection we can to these wonderful dogs who risk their lives daily to fight crime and thus protect the residents of the county."

Although wearing the vests does take a little getting used to initially, some of the dogs have already started training with them. Sergeant Lee Marsh of the Montgomery County Police K-9 unit said, "Having the vests is going to allow us to give more protection to the dogs in high-risk situations." He also expressed that the K-9 officers were happy that the vests "provide a lot higher level of safety and coverage without restricting their [the dogs'] ability to do their job."

Additionally, the MCHS has purchased seventeen K-9 temperature monitor systems for use in local K-9 police vehicles. The monitors activate an alert system when cars become hot notifying the officer, rolling down the windows and triggering a fan to cool the dog off.

County Executive Douglas M. Duncan said, "The new equipment the Humane Society has donated to local police departments enhances the performance and environment for the dogs that are true partners for the men and the women of the K-9 corps."

Finally, the MCHS unveiled its unique mobile adoption unit which will travel to several sites around Montgomery County with adoptable animals on board. The 1999 Startrans Minicoach measures 28-feet in length, is air-conditioned and has 15 cages to accommodate dogs, cats and small animals. Mrs. Zanville described the van as a "relatively new concept in animal adoptions--something that is completely new to this area and almost unheard of in most parts of the country." The MCHS hopes that the van will be instrumental in finding many new loving homes for the county's homeless animals.

The van will be making stops at Wheaton Plaza and Colesville Shopping Center and the MCHS is working with county regional services centers to expand the program to other areas of the county for the fall.

Mr. Duncan added, "Initiating the operation of the adopt-a-pet van in communities around the county helps us bring services to the residents, instead of them having to come to the services."

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