A Bomb Technician and His New K-9 Partner Meet City Council Thanks to Community Donations to Non-Profit Keeping K-9s in Kevlar

Submitted by: Keeping K-9s in Kevlar

Bellingham Police Department’s Lt. Donald Almer recently introduced their newest bomb team member, K-9 Raven, to the Bellingham City Council. K-9 Raven was purchased for Bomb Technician Officer Horton from Pacific Coast K9 in Custer, WA with community funds donated from Keeping K-9s in Kevlar. K-9 Raven and Officer Horton will serve the communities north of Marysville, WA up to the Canadian border keeping ports, airports, border, schools, and communities safe after 400 hours of training to be certified.

Officer Horton is the first bomb technician from the Bellingham Police Department to be trained as an explosive detection K-9 handler and be available on call 24/7. As a bomb technician, Horton averages 20- 50 calls in Whatcom County a year and can be deployed within the USA if needed. He is among a very small list in the Nation with his extensive bomb technician skills and K-9 Raven’s explosive detection skills adds value to their partnership.

Like all K-9s in Whatcom County, K-9 Raven and Officer Horton require 200 hours of annual training until retirement. Keeping K-9s in Kevlar is asking for the community’s assistance to help with their training.

Interested in assisting the K-9s with their training?

1. 1)  Business owners in Whatcom County interested in providing the K-9 units training experience in your building after work hours, please contact Kendra Cook at KeepingK9sinKevlar@Gmail.com.
2. 2)  Interested in donating land to build a training facility for all NW Regional K-9s? Tracy Peterson- Nienaber, a Realtor with John L. Scott Real Estate will donate her Real Estate services to help make the tax deductible donation. Please contact Tracy if you have interest in donating land: 360-510-2554, TracyPetersonNienaber@Johnlscott.com. The land would belong to Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Support Foundation Non-Profit.
3. 3)  Tax deductible donations for Keeping K-9s in Kevlar can be made to: Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Support Foundation c/o Keeping K-9s In Kevlar

3901 Airport Way
Bellingham, WA 98226
(Please put in notation: For Local K-9 Training and Safety)

4) The “Learn More” button on Keeping K-9s in Kevlar’s Facebook page will take you to their PayPal account.

Keeping K-9s in Kevlar is a non-Profit 501(c)(3) under the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Support Foundation to build community rapport with law enforcement, raise funds for safety, training, and Kevlar vests for K-9s in law enforcement. No one is paid, 100% of donations go to K-9 needs. The group is made up of K-9 Handlers, a small-town mayor, and the civilian founder.

Featured photo by Robbie Hochreiter