Mashburn donates for K-9 vest

The Ringgold Police Department recently received a donation from a local business to purchase a protective vest for its K-9 Unit drug dog.

For the past couple of years, the Ringgold PD has been proudly represented by its four-legged officer, Shelby.

Now, thanks to the generosity of Mashburn Equipment LLC in Ringgold, Shelby will be safer while out on patrol.

“It really was a great, much appreciated donation, and we’re happy to get the vest for our K-9,” Chief Dan Bilbrey said.

Although Shelby has been with the department for awhile, she recently got a new handler in Officer Joshua Vandyke.

Bilbrey says Vandyke recently went through some of his handler certification training and that the duo is already making contributions in the field.

“The K-9 has been with her new handler and they’re out on patrol and they’ve already had a few drug cases, so it’s working out well,” Bilbrey said. “The dog has been certified, so the training has been more for the handler, but it’s been a good refresher for the dog. They’ve both done a great job.”

Bilbrey says that Vandyke and Shelby will next participate in tracking training.

“Our next step is to get the certification on tracking. It’ll take some time, but it’s on the horizon,” Bilbrey said.

In September, when the City Council approved and signed off on the agreement for the new handler, it also made the decision that Vandyke would take ownership of Shelby when she retires from duty.

“Because of the relationship the K-9 and the handler has, especially over two or three years, it would be in the best interest of the K-9 to allow the handler to take on the responsibility for the remainder of the dog’s life,” City Manager Dan Wright said. “Of course, the handler would have responsibility of maintaining the dog and paying all the expenses.”

Bilbrey says Shelby will be used not only in drug searches and tracking in the future, but that she’ll also be a big part of the community.

“We will have her involved in community events, with the schools, and we’ll make her more accessible to our public,” Bilbrey said.

/ Adam Cook The Ringgold Police Department received a donation to purchase a K-9 protective vest on Oct. 29 from Mashburn Equipment LLC. From left: Robert Mashburn, Alvin Mashburn, Ringgold Police K-9 Shelby and Officer Joshua Vandyke.