Donation helps keep K-9 officers safe

Bill and Mitzi Magee have donated $1,000 to the Elmore County Sheriff's Office K-9 program to help offset the cost of three K-9 Heat Alarm Pro's for the county's three K-9 vehicles.

Mitzi Magee had heard a tragic story of a police officer that had lost his K-9 partner when the patrol vehicle's air-conditioning unit quit working while the officer was out on a call.

The heat in the vehicle had risen to a dangerous and fatal level, eventually killing the police dog.

Mitzi and Bill, who are local leaders in the animal rights and protection movement, had inquired if the Elmore County Sheriff's K-9 units were equipped with some type of an alarm system to prevent a similar incident from occurring here.

When she found out there were no alarms in the county's units, she took action by donating $1,000 towards the purchase of the units.

The "Heat Alarm Pro" is designed to alert the officer when his vehicle's temperature rises above a pre-determined level. Along with setting off the horn and siren, the system also will roll down the windows of the patrol unit and a page signal is sent to a remote unit, which the officer has with him at all times. The cost of the units are approximately $700 each, not including the cost of installation.

The sheriff's K-9 unit consists of three teams. Detective Mike Barclay and K-9 Maggie (Black Lab), Deputy Shaun Sterling and K-9 Hershey (Chocolate Lab) and Deputy Rick Bohling and Tyson (German Shepard).