A Russian company announced the release of an armored jacket specially designed for dogs that they designed shortly after the death of Diesel, the police dog killed in the Saint-Denis raids in France.
The vests were designed by the defense company Scientific Production Association of Special Materials and protect a dog’s torso with additional body armor that can protect the dog’s head and legs. A Russian handler demonstrating the “Nord Body armour” said that the dogs don’t like the vests at first, but adjust to them with positive reinforcement and training. The company designed the canine vest to keep bomb-sniffing police dogs safe.
Specialized ballistic vests for K-9 dogs and military working dogs have been manufactured for a number of years. Companies like Armor Express in the U.S. and K9 Storm in Canada specialize in making vests for police dogs and military working dogs. The dog vests aren’t cheap and can run from $1000 to $30,000 a piece depending on their sophistication. Cairo, the military working dog who served alongside the 80 Navy SEALS on their mission to take down Osama bin Laden, wore specialized gear from K9 Storm.
A number of non-profit organizations and private companies raise money to purchase K-9 vests for police departments around the country to ease the burden on cities and taxpayers. After a K-9 named Rocco was stabbed to death in Pittsburgh, money was raised to buy 175 vests for the city’s police dogs.
There are an estimated 30,000 K-9s in the U.S. alone. Given the continued importance of police dogs in law enforcement, protecting them and keeping them safe is always a concern to their handlers, who view them as their partners.
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