Citizens Buy Two K-9's For SRSO

On March 30, 2011, The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office requested the help of community minded citizens and business leaders in order to replace two aging Sheriff's Office K-9's. With current budgetary constraints in place, it was not possible for the Sheriff's Office to provide the funding for their replacement. After publicizing the agency's need, the community responded with an awesome response. Sheriff Hall is now proud to announce that two K-9's were purchased this past week to replace K-9 “Gero” and K-9 “Banja”. “Gero” suffered a career ending injury last March that required his retirement at 9-years old. “Banja” was required to be retired for health related issues at 8-years old. K-9 officer "Rocky", a three year old Belgian Malinois and "Kaz", a 14-month old German Shepherd, have now reported to duty. Donations from our dedicated citizens totaled almost $31,000, collected in only six weeks. We still have citizens that are continuing to donate and we still have several fundraiser's that are planned in the near future. The remaining funds and those collected in the future will be held in a suspense account, specifically designated for the purchase of future K-9's as the need arises and as deputy positions are available to enhance the current K-9 unit. Sheriff Hall's immediate priority is to purchase another K-9 that will be used mainly for the purpose of detecting narcotics in Santa Rosa County Schools. The approximate cost to purchase one law enforcement K-9 is $10,000.00. Anyone wishing to contribute to this fund can contact K-9 Sergeant Chris Turcic at 850-983-1219. A special account has been established for any future donations that are received. Please click here for a photo of our new K-9 officers and a list of our gracious contributors.