Update:
In a press release issued this week, we learned that Brady is receiving the 'Kid of the Year' Award!
Every year, the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) honors animal heroes who help humans or other animals in extraordinary ways, as well as people who demonstrate great commitment to assisting at-risk animals.
This year's Humane Awards Luncheon will honor many worthy recipients, including fashion icon, author, and performer Isaac Mizrahi, ten-year-old boy Brady who is raising funds to buy ballistic vests for K9 officers, and former U.S. President George H. W. Bush's official service animal, Sully.
KID OF THE YEAR: Brady Snakovsky (Strongsville, OH)
"Ten-year-old Brady Snakovsky and his mom founded Brady's K9 Fund after Brady learned Ohio's K9 officers could not afford potentially life-saving, but expensive ballistic vests. Brady committed himself to raising funds to protect the animals who so loyally protect us. Since it was launched, Brady's K9 Fund has provided vests for 126 K9 officers in multiple states, and his GoFundMe page has brought in nearly $130,000 to advance the mission of protecting all police dogs from gun violence. For identifying a life-threatening vulnerability for local police dogs and committing himself to their protection, Brady Snakovsky is the 2019 ASPCA Kid of the Year."
The original post was published on May 14, 2019.
K-9 officers don't all have ballistic vests. I actually just assumed this was something included in tactical gear for the dogs but the majority of these K-9 units are self-funded and do not have these vests. These vests are over $1,000 a piece!
First, thank goodness for this child who decided K-9 officers needed the same level of protection as their human partners! I certainly hope more people donate after watching these videos. He's very inspiring.
What is Brady's K-9 fund? A little nine-year-old boy raised money so ballistic vests could be donated to K-9s across the country. Brady's Fund was his brainchild and it's incredible! You can donate by visiting the GoFundMe page. 78 vests have been donated thus far and the vests can cost as much as $1,200.
Here's another video that features what Brady's K-9 Fund did for officers!
Think about this! Brady is a third grader from Strongsville, Ohio and now he's the founder of an organization that's literally saving the lives of K-9 units all over the country. This story is incredible!
This all started in 2018. He established Brady's K9 Fund after watching Live PD on TV when he saw a police dog pop up on the screen who was not wearing a bulletproof protective vest. Brady has always dreamed of growing up to become a police officer!
Requests for the bulletproof vests are coming in every day and police departments across the country are benefitting from this campaign! Help Brady raise money and perhaps contact your local police K-9 unit and ask if they know about this program so you can promote this locally. When a K-9 police officer is killed in the line of duty folks will think twice about whether or not this tragedy would have happened if they had a ballistic vest.
Follow the lead of this Strongsville boy! These K-9 vests are so expensive.
What do you think about wearable tech for working K-9s? Let us know in the comments.
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