Group donates ballistic vests to help protect police dogs (VIDEO)

Rooster, a 4-year-old Wichita police dog, sat calmly panting as his owner, Officer Daniel Gumm, slipped a black ballistic vest over his torso Thursday afternoon.

Under the lights of a City Hall briefing room, Rooster whined at Gumm.

“He’s ready to go to work,” Gumm said.

That’s exactly what the Four-Legged Project, a local nonprofit animal welfare group, is aiming for.

The group has been raising money since 2012 to outfit nine police dogs in Sedgwick County with bulletproof vests. The Wichita Police Department uses five dogs, and the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office uses four, the group said.

Nikki Woodrow, president of the Four-Legged Project, said each vest costs approximately $1,035.

The Wichita Wagonmasters donated money for two vests – one for Rooster and another for a Sheriff’s Office canine.

“We don’t raise a ton of money, so we want to make it go as far as it can for the right causes,” said Greg Shelton, a spokesman with the Wagonmasters. “It really seemed the perfect fit, that we are helping kick-start this project.”

Since 2012, 20 police canines have been killed in action across the United States, as a result of gunfire or stabbing, Woodrow said.

“In 2012, when they started putting up statistics, it opened up my mind,” Woodrow said. “It’s something little you can do to get together to make a change in somebody’s life.”

Across the state of Kansas, there are approximately 50 to 60 active-duty police dogs, Woodrow said.

The vests are made of 100 percent Poly Duck, which provides “maximum coverage to the vital organs,” according to the project’s website.

Woodrow said the group has raised enough for four vests so far. It will continue to raise money for the nine vests in Sedgwick County.

After that is completed, it will start fundraising for other police departments across Kansas, Woodrow said.

In the Wichita Police Department, dogs are used to track fleeing suspects, clear buildings and sniff out narcotics, Gumm said.

He said the vest will put him more at ease when he is in dangerous situations with Rooster.

“If we do encounter someone that’s truly a bad person, it gives us an extra bit of safety,” Gumm said. “It’s going to make us a lot better.”

Rooster, who usually is “pretty mellow” at home, Gumm said, seemed to adjust to his new vest quickly.

“Other officers will have other human partners riding with them; he’s my partner,” Gumm said. “We ride to work together and when we’re done, he comes home with me every day.

“It’s really good to see a group from the community step up to help us out.”

This story was originally published March 5, 2015 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Group donates ballistic vests to help protect police dogs (VIDEO)."