Yakima Woman Wants Your Help To Keep Police Dogs On The Job

Ask how Yakima County Sheriff Bob Udell describes the value of the Yakima County Sheriff's Department's three K-9s and he'll gladly tell you.

The dog's sense of smell, agility, speed, strength and determination allow them to do many things that their two-footed associates are unable to do.

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Sheriff Udell says his department has two patrol dogs and a drug-sniffing dog.  He wishes he had a K-9 team on every shift because he says on-duty dogs are

A force multiplier.

Police Dogs Are Expensive

So as valuable as they are, you might think they are a fully funded part of a responsible law enforcement budget.  But if you did, you would be as wrong as a bad guy thinking he could outrun one of the speedy four-legged officers!

The dogs are expensive...expensive to purchase, train and maintain and that is where a lovely dog-loving lady named Fern Hart comes in. She started the K9 Foundation of Yakima Valley in February of last year and through a variety of projects was able to exceed her goal of raising $50-thousand dollars for dog food, medical bills, training tools,, and replacement dog officers.

Can You Help Fund Four-Legged Law Enforcers

It's 2022 and Fern Hart is back at it again.  She says supporting the dogs is a pretty easy sell to her partners once they understand the need, their value, and the lack of funding and she's very appreciative of the local businesses who have stepped up to help. We'll mention Pingrey Motors in Selah and The Range in Yakima as a couple of Fern favorites.  There are more and she is hoping to see the list grow this year.

Fern Hart and Yakima Count Sheriff Bob Udell stopped by the radio to talk about her foundation and how we all can help.