LOCAL BUSINESSES TAKE A “BITE” OUT-OF-CRIME ... LITERALLY!

21 AUGUST 2007 TUCSON, Arizona -- A little over a year ago, two local businesses purchased a trained police K9 for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department ... A unique donation for sure, but the intent was to be far more reaching ...

 

A trained police K9 provides long-term value -- seven years to be exact -- to the community and department far beyond the price tag of $11,500. In the time since the donation, “Rudy” (The K9) and Sgt. Greg Bargar (The Handler) have combined to accomplish the following:

 

They’ve recovered over $735,000 in drug money ... Seized over 40-lbs of Cocaine; 25-lbs of Methamphetamine; 2-lbs of Heroin; 7400-lbs of Marijuana; And been involved with the search and arrest of numerous felony suspects for various crimes ranging from: Car Jacking, Kidnapping, Auto-Theft, Robbery, and various others.

 

“This is a big win for the community and Sheriff’s department” said Rob Waldrop, Creative Director of GalapagosM, Inc. (formerly GSource, LLC), who’s law enforcement background helped make the donation a reality. It was Waldrop and a client of his business (Sundt Mortgage) that raised the funds to purchase the K9.

 

According to Waldrop, who you may remember as a stand-out football player at the University of Arizona during the Desert Swarm years, “Reading Rudy’s deployment ‘stats’ is very satisfying, especially when you know that they have at least six more years together on the street -- This is an extremely effective donation”.

 

Based on the success of “Rudy”, Waldrop is looking to duplicate the donation and purchase another K9 for the Sheriff’s department this year. “We’d really like to get more businesses and community members involved this year ... from our point of view, the more the merrier!”

 

The event is called, “Every Dog Has A Day”. If you’re interested, There’s a website (supportAK9.com) where you can find out more info. “We are currently in the planning process -- contacting those from last year who expressed an interest -- and looking for others who want to be a part of it this year” Waldrop said.

 

It’s important to note, this is an avenue of direct donation -- 100% of the donation goes to the Sheriff’s Department.

 

*Yes, I'm interested in contributing to future K9 donations.