Thanks to Grace Kelly Herbert, president of Finding Shelter Animal Rescue, four hardworking K9 officers received a very special donation in recognition of their service to the community. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sean Forsyth and his K9, Bikkel; Deputy Thomas Franklin and his K9, Behr; Deputy Trevor Keller and his K9, Artus; and Norristown Police Department Officer Christopher Narkin and his K9, Nero all received customized Big Barker dog beds.
Earlier in the year, Grace asked us if we’d be interested in working with Finding Shelter to help get Big Barker beds for these local K9 heroes. She felt that it was important to recognize the working dogs who help keep her community safe and thought that Big Barker beds would be a perfect gift to help the dogs to enjoy a higher quality of life (which we 100% agreed with!). Finding Shelter then created a successful online crowdfunding campaign to purchase two beds, which we matched & added waterproof liners and some custom embroidery to add the K9’s names to the side of each bed.
We were really thrilled with the turnout at the Norristown Courthouse. They had an entire courtroom reserved, and some remarks were given by Montgomery County Sheriff Sean P. Kilkenny, Captain Richard Clowser of the Norristown Police Department, and Grace Kelly Herbert of Finding Shelter.
“Police dogs have great physical demands put on them during regular training and in their day-to-day police work,” said Sheriff Kilkenny. “We appreciate having partners that care as much about their well-being as we do.”
Captain Clowser added, “Having the ability for them to go home and have these beds to relax on and get re-energized is huge. Again, Finding Shelter and Big Barker, thank you for what you’ve done to help us keep our K9 police dogs healthy.”
After the opening remarks, Grace and I presented each K9 and their partner with their own Big Barker bed and a gift bag to take home with them.
Several members of the press also attended the event. The video at the top of this post appeared on the 5:00 Channel 6 ABC News in Philadelphia. Here isa 2nd Channel 6 segment that aired at 4:00.
Representing KYW 1060 Newsradio, Jim Melwert conducted my very first radio interview! Talking into the microphone made me a bit nervous, but the segment did a great job of conveying why these heroic K9’s were receiving their Big Barker beds.
Overall, we were THRILLED with our day in Norristown. As I said in the radio clip above:
“Large dogs are prone to conditions like hip dysplasia and arthritis, so we build beds that take all the pressure from their joints and keep it off the floor.”
Police dogs work VERY hard. Because they tirelessly serve their communities, we’re truly honored to help make their lives a little easier by giving them a place to rest their tired muscles and joints when they go home at night.
If you’d like to watch the entire presentation, here’s the video feed that we live-streamed to Facebook during the event. (The first half is the presentation, the 2nd half is where the dogs try out their beds 🙂)
Additional Media:
Online & Newspaper coverage by CBS Local, Montgomery News, and Patch. Also covered, but not available online, by the North Penn Reporter, The Intelligencer, and the Times Herald.
Photo Albums by Finding Shelter and Norristown Police Department.
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