K-9 gets new bullet-proof vest

WASILLA -- The Wasilla Police dog's name is Hero. But now, thanks to a bulletproof vest purchased with funds raised by Lions District 49A Foundation, the charitable arm of the Lions Club, Hero can live up to his name without sacrificing his life.

Jesse Sharpe, a Willow Lion, spearheaded the fundraising effort. Under the Lions Leader Dog program, local Lions have purchased two police dogs for Alaska State Troopers and bulletproof vests for all of the Valley police dogs -- one in Palmer, one in Wasilla and one in Big Lake. The vests cost $1,200 each and are custom-made by a Canadian Company, Canine Storm.

It's a small price to pay to keep the dogs safe," said Sharpe's wife, Willow Lion Kris Sharpe.

The effort to buy the vests began after the first police dog the Lions purchased, L.C., was shot in the line of duty in Fairbanks in 1998. L.C. saved an officer's life but almost lost his. Hero's partner, John McNeal, a Wasilla Police Department canine officer, said he's grateful his dog won't have to suffer a similar fate.

"If it saves him once in his career, it's worth it to me," McNeal said.