Hiawassee K9 receives ballistic vest, heat alarm donation

HIAWASSEE, Ga. – The Prissy and Andy Armstrong Trust recently made a substantial contribution to the Georgia Police K9 Foundation, which in turn will protect “Buddy,” Hiawassee Police Department’s drug-detection K9. “We will be receiving a ballistic vest for Buddy, and a heat alarm system for the patrol car,” Hiawassee Police Chief Paul Smith said, expressing appreciation to the Georgia Police K9 Foundation for their generous donation.

“The Prissy and Andy Armstrong Trust is named for Metro Atlanta architect Andy Armstrong of Armstrong Associates Architects and his beloved Beagle, Prissy. The Foundation supports local animal causes, mostly canine. Bulletproof and stab-proof vests for working dogs serving in law-enforcement and military arenas are the current focus,” the Georgia Police K9 Foundation said. “These custom, soft body armor vests, created and distributed by LOF Defence Systems, were developed in conjunction with police and military handlers to provide ballistic and edged weapon protection for major vital organs, while allowing complete freedom of movement in all working conditions. The company emphasizes comfort, allowing a working dog to wear the vest for a full shift even in Georgia’s heat and humidity, ensuring the dog is always protected when confronting a threat.

“Extremely generous contributions to Georgia’s law enforcement K9 units made by The Prissy and Andy Armstrong Trust have included more than $53,000 in protective vests and $3,000 in heat alarms. Thank you to Trust founder Susan Mack-Armstrong for her continuous and unwavering support to protect these K9 officers. While highly trained, K-9 lives are at stake as much if not more than their human counterparts. K-9 Officers are trained to subdue a suspect until he can be taken into custody by their handlers, increasing community safety. They also can be trained to search for narcotics, including cocaine, marijuana, crystal meth and heroin, and more than a dozen explosive odors.”

Buddy was trained for drug-detection and donated to the Hiawassee Police Department by PAWS Dog Training K9 Behavior Center.

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