Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Two members of the Presque Isle Police Department will now be a little more safe thanks to students and faculty at Presque Isle Middle School.
As part of Red Ribbon Week, the largest drug prevention campaign in the country, the school community was encouraged to donate money to the “Invest in a Vest” fund, which was used to buy a bulletproof vest that will be shared by Dozer, the narcotics detection dog, and Hunter, the tracking/trailing dog.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
STUDENTS AND FACULTY at Presque Isle Middle School raised $500 during the recent Red Ribbon Week to purchase a bulletproof vest that will be shared by Dozer, the narcotics detection dog, and Hunter, the tracking/trailing dog, the Presque Isle Police Department’s K-9 unit. Pictured with Dozer, modeling the new vest, are, from left: Officer Rob Thibeault, Dozer’s handler; Chief Naldo Gagnon, and Allison Reed, adviser of the school’s Civil Rights Team, which spearheaded the fund-raising drive.
The vest was presented to the department last Friday at a school assembly.
“It means a lot that the school community is that concerned about the dogs’ safety,” said Dozer’s handler, Officer Rob Thibeault, “and would invest that much in the police department itself. It really means a lot that they care that much.
“Usually when we are able to purchase equipment it’s through state and federal grants, so for the students to collect money for a vest is pretty special,” he said. “Once in a while citizens will drop off a bag of dog food or a toy, but this is the first time that I’ve seen something other than a grant provide equipment that significant. I’m just really grateful they would do something like this. It’s really awesome.”
Dozer is a purebred black Lab, while Hunter is a purebred bloodhound. Officer Kevin Schumacher is Hunter’s handler.
“Hunter’s about 120 pounds, and Dozer’s between 85 and 90 pounds,” said Thibeault, who got Dozer in Ohio last January. “I stayed out there for 50 hours of handler training. That gave us one of four national certifications. When we got back here, we worked a little bit on the road, and we just got back from additional training.”
Thibeault and Dozer recently graduated from the Maine State Police K-9 Drug Detection School.
The bulletproof vest cost $500, and Allison Reed, adviser of the school’s Civil Rights Team, said she’s very proud of the school community for reaching its goal.
“We raised $500 in five days,” said Reed. “It was amazing. There were donations ranging from 10 cents to $20, and everyone was extremely excited about participating. It was an amazing contribution.
“Red Ribbon Week was a huge success. The kids participated in all the different events, and were really excited to have the dogs here at school,” she said. “We’ll observe Red Ribbon Week again next year, and do another fund-raiser to help the community.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
JOSHUA JONES, a sixth-grader at Presque Isle Middle School, pats Dozer, the Presque Isle Police Department’s narcotics detection dog, as Dozer’s handler, Officer Rob Thibeault, looks on. Thibeault and Police Chief Naldo Gagnon attended a school assembly last Friday where they accepted a bulletproof vest that was purchased by the school with money raised during Red Ribbon Week, the largest drug prevention campaign in the country.
