SHE'S HELPED PROTECT THE PROTECTOR

Donor Helps Police Dog Get A Bulletproof Vest

Bern is a lucky dog. An anonymous donor gave Bern -- the narcotics
detection dog for the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department -- a bulletproof
vest.

In the five years the sheriff's department has had a K-9 unit, none of the
dogs has ever been shot. But Bern's handler, Deputy Ron Mathis, said,
"They're in the line of duty, too."

Mathis has handled Bern for three years.

"Bern is known through the Kanawha Valley, not just by those he's
apprehended," said Chief Deputy Phil Morris. "He also goes into schools."

The sheriff's department has received donations in the past, but they have
never been directed to a certain item, Morris said.

The donor, an 86-year-old woman who wants to remain anonymous, has lived in
Kanawha County her whole life. She made the donation in the memory of her
late husband and daughter.

The only condition she attached to the donation was that her two great
grandsons, Christian Reeves and Dustin Paxton, were able to have their
picture taken with the dog.

Her husband, whom she was married to for 63 years, died last July.

She said she has spent little of the money she and her husband saved
together. She doesn't spend all of the income she receives each month, so
she has been able to make donations to causes she thinks are worthy.

The vest she donated to Bern cost $719.95, she said.

She has never met the deputies or their dogs, she said, but she read an
article in the newspaper about the Capital City charity horse show that was
trying to raise money for a vest for the bomb dog.

"I can do that," she said she thought to herself.

She said she's hoping her donation will urge others to make contributions.

Her great grandsons were both excited to be able to spend a little time
with Deputy Mathis and Bern on Friday when Bern received the vest.

"I think it looks cool," Christian said. He said he'd seen the county's two
dogs in his school in Dunbar before, but he was still impressed with Bern.

"I've just never heard anyone talk to a dog in German," he said.

Different dogs are trained in different languages, Mathis said, and Bern
was trained in German.

Bern, who cost about $5,000 himself, will have to be trained with the vest.
He's never worn anything like it before, Deputy Chief Morris said. "There
are situations that the deputies will know about ahead of time that are
particularly dangerous," he said. "When they (the dog and the deputy) go
into a drug culture or situation, the officer will be able to put the vest
on Bern and that will give him added protection."

Morgan, the other dog in the K-9 unit, will be receiving a bulletproof vest
later this month from the Capital City charity horse show, Morris said.