GALESBURG, Illinois — Galesburg Police Department’s K9 Zeus will be extra safe on the job, thanks to a bullet-proof vest being donated to him.
Zeus, who is two years old, has been with the Galesburg Police Department since August of 2019. He works with Officer Jacob Taylor; the pair are a certified full-service canine team. To get that certification from the State of Illinois, they had to undergo a 10-week training in Decatur, Illinois. Zeus specializes in detecting illegal drugs and the tracking of people and articles.
The vest is expected to be delivered to Zeus sometime in March. It is bullet and stab-protective and comes from a nonprofit organization called Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. Zeus’ vest was sponsored by Nancy Pyron from Huson, Montana. It will be embroidered with the saying: “Born to Love – Trained to Serve – Loyal Always”
“We are very grateful to Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. and Nancy Pyron for the opportunity to obtain a protective vest for our K9 officer,” said Police Chief Russell Idle. “K9 officers play a valued role on our team and keeping them safe on the job is very important to our department.”
Vested Interest was established in 2009. Since then, they’ve provided more than 3,500 custom-fitted protective vests in 50 states. They run on both private and corporate donations.
Zeus’ vest is valued between $1,744 and $2,283. Overall, the organization’s vests have equaled about $6.9 million.
