Girl buys bulletproof vests for RCMP dogs
Last Updated Thu, 19 May 2005 14:54:19 EDT
SPRUCE GROVE, ALTA. - A nine-year-old girl from Spruce Grove has achieved a goal she set herself 14 months ago: a bulletproof vest for every RCMP dog in the province.
Celina Dawdy's supporters figured it would take her years to raise the money. The vests, ordered from California, cost about $1,200 each, and the Mounties have eight dogs in the province.
Celina Dawdy: 'I just really love dogs and I wouldn't want anything to hurt them'
Celina talked to schools and pet owners and left donation jars at stores and offices. Her father, Bob Dawdy, said a few of the jars were stolen but she just took jars back to those businesses and kept going. She collected about $10,000.
This week, she presented the RCMP with the eighth and final vest.
Her motivation? "I just really love dogs and I wouldn't want anything to hurt them ... and I just kind of put myself in the police's shoes to think like what would they feel if something happened to their dogs, so I thought of the best way to protect them while they're on duty," she told CBC News.
RCMP Cpl. David Koekman and his partner, Rex, thank Celina.
RCMP Cpl. David Koekman says his partner, Rex, is safer because of her. "These dogs, they do everything with us. Often they're first into volatile situations, so it gives us the confidence that, when needed, this is a tool we can use to keep them safe."
Celina says that even though Alberta's RCMP dogs are protected, there are others that aren't. If the donations keep coming, she'll keep buying vests for police dogs across the country, she says.
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