Student efforts to pay for police dogs raise $1,800; more needed

A little more than two months into the "Pay for the Pups" project, the campaign has raised under $2,000 toward the purchase and training of two new police canines for the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

The Pay for the Pups project is a cooperative effort between the police department, the Southeast Missourian Jr. and local schools.

The department will retire its current dogs, Bolo and Toben, later this year. The program was reactivated at the end of December to help with funding to replace them.

It will take about $24,000 to replace both dogs, said police chief Carl Kinnison.

The Cape Girardeau Kiwanis Club donated $12,000 to the effort, and so far Pay for the Pups has brought in more than $1,800, according to organizer Cheryl Ellis.

If the project falls short of the amount necessary to pay for the new canines, Kinnison said, the department may be able to make up the difference using money from a recent drug forfeiture, which could net the department anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000.

The Pay for Pups project encourages students to pitch in and organize fundraisers to help raise the money. Any classroom that participates will be featured in the Southeast Missourian Jr.

Ellis said bad weather and upcoming MAP testing slowed down participation in the project but that she expects it to pick up again soon.

Area police dog trainer Mike Ervin, who oversees training for the police canines, usually purchases the dogs for area agencies from a vendor in the Czech Republic, but Kinnson said he is unsure whether Ervin plans on making the same arrangement for the new canines.

Bolo will likely retire first, probably sometime in May, Kinnison said.

The new dog would replace him on the street, but Toben would remain on active duty until later in the summer, so two inexperienced canines wouldn't be starting work at the same time, Kinnison said.

When the department purchased Bolo and Toben almost seven years ago, the training wasn't staggered that way, Kinnison said.

During their service, Toben and Bolo have been used more than 1,600 times. The dogs are invaluable in recovering drugs from houses and vehicles, as well as tracking suspects, Kinnison said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635

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40 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO