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| Members of Windham Girl Scout Troop 1518 used money earned from, cookie sales to purchase a protective vest for Kora, a working K-9 in the Windham Police Department. They presented the vest to Kora and her handler, Windham Officer Steven Stubbs, on Aug. 18. PHOTO BY COLLETTE HAYES |
The nine Girl Scouts in Windham Troop 1518 used their ingenuity and shine to
sell over 2,500 boxes of girl scout cookies this year and they donated a large
portion of the money they received from the sales to buy a protective vest for
Kora, a working K-9 in the Windham Police Department.
The girls more than met their financial goal through
the cookie sale and were able to buy and donate the vest.
“It feels so good doing something for the community,” Girl Scout Madison Nugent
said. “Every year we make a donation to the community from our cookie sales. We
have donated to the animal shelter, the community garden, the MSSPA Horse
Rescue and made Christmas ornaments for the nursing homes. This year we wanted
to make sure the Windham police department dog is safe.”
Kora, a five-year-old Malinois, is the recipient of the protective K-9 vest.
On Aug. 18, Windham Police Officer Steven Stubbs
along with Kora, visited with Troop 1518 members on the lawn of the Friends
Meeting House across the street from the Windham Police station.
“First of all, I would like to thank all of you
very much for your generosity in making sure Kora is safe,” he said. “When I’m
on a high-risk call, she is usually the first to go into the situation. When I
send her in, it means a lot to me knowing she is protected.”
Stubbs has been training Kora since she was 6-months-old.
He said Kora has a superior sense of smell and is a great detector.
“She can find a whole slew of illegal drugs,”
Stubbs said. “On one of our fun training days we teamed up with the Falmouth K-9
dog team and simulated a drug deal with the Coast Guard. We went out on the
Falmouth officer’s boat to where the Coast Guard boat was docked. Drugs had
been hidden on the Coast Guard boat for the dogs to locate. This was great
training for the dogs. If it becomes necessary for Kora to travel to a shipyard
or a wharf full of boats, she won’t be distracted. She knows exactly what she
needs to do.”
According to Stubbs. a fully trained police dog is worth probably between
$18,000 to $20,000 but in their line of work, they are invaluable.
“They protect us in all different kinds of
situations. You really can’t put a price on them,” Stubbs said. “We ask these
dogs to do so much. The least we can do for them is to protect them with a
vest.”
The new vest is stab resistant, cut resistant and
bullet proof.
“There is a door popper on my police car door. If
I encounter a confrontation with another individual all I have to do is press a
button which I have in my pocket, and it pops the car door open. and Kora
immediately jumps out of the car and runs to my side to assess the situation,”
he said. “She is amazing at reading body language. She can deescalate a
negative situation so quickly just by being present. Individuals are more
willing to comply with what we want them to do when she shows up.”
Each day Kora can be found traveling along in the back seat of Officer Stubbs’
police car in her new protective vest.
“When I answer an incoming call over the radio,
Kora knows it is time to go to work. She begins barking incessantly, jumping
around and pacing across the backseat with almost uncontrollable excitement.”
Stubbs said.
Her excitement about going to work each day is
something most of us would have a hard time relating to. In so many ways it is
evident she is a rare breed and deserves to be protected with a K-9 vest,
thanks to a generous donation from Girl Scout Troop 1518. <
