Maple Grove Police competes for K9 Grant Money
Several police departments in our area are vying for votes in a national campaign aimed at helping police dogs. They could win a few thousand dollars through the Aftermath K9 Grant.
Calo was born in Poland and is a Belgian-Malinois German-Shepherd mix. The cop canine has been on the Maple Grove police force since the summer. The department is glad to have the four-legged cop. It is the first time in 20 years Maple Grove police have a canine of their own.
Smiling, Chief Eric Werner said, “Calo has been on the street for a number of months now. He’s doing fantastic.”
Costs For Caring For Calo
However, caring for Calo is not cheap. It costs about $78,000 dollars, which includes a special vehicle to transport the K-9 and training costs.
“There’s always ongoing needs for a new canine unit particular for Calo. He is going to some upcoming training where he is going to be narcotic certified. So, we anticipate some expenses with that,” explained Werner.
Maple Grove is hoping to receive the Aftermath K9 Grant to offset some of the costs. They also want to use the money to bolster its new k-9 unit.
“I actually have a proposal that I’m going to be going to the city council in the near future, so my hope is that I will have two canines in Maple Grove,” said Werner. “If we won the grant we’d be excited about the outpouring of support from the community. Because that’s really what this grant is all about.”
The public is encouraged to vote online for their favorite canine. The top eight most popular votes will win up to $5,000 dollars. Chief Werner is hope to drum up support.
“We appreciate Aftermath making a commitment to public safety, particularly the canine units. This gives the chance of the community to speak their voice and show support for how important this program is.”
Aftermath is a business that works closely with police to clean up crime scenes. Company officials say the grants are a way of showing support to law enforcement.
Meanwhile, Crystal and New Hope are also in the running for grants. Voting ends November 5th.
