PALATKA, Fla. – They’ve done it again.
A dynamic mother-daughter duo with a love for police dogs has raised enough funding to equip each of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office K-9 vehicles with life-saving heat sensory equipment.
Local mom Debbie Johnson and her daughter Emma were able to visit the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday to see the state-of-the-art technology in action.
Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach said the gift is a huge upgrade for their department.
“We actually have the ability to transmit that data real-time to our deputy’s cell phones now which is of critical importance because, as you can imagine, there’s nothing that I can think of that’s worse than having an air conditioner that goes out in a car,” DeLoach said.
That’s what happened just this past spring to St. Augustine Beach Police Department K-9 Kilo as he was resting inside his police vehicle. When the air conditioner malfunctioned, and the temperature inside it started climbing, Cpl. Bruce Cline was immediately notified by an alert to his phone, the same life-saving heat sensor provided by Debbie and Emma.
Through their nonprofit K9s United, that Debbie created 4 years ago, she and Emma have held everything from bake sales to charity runs to buy specific supplies and tools for police K-9 units nationwide.
Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Emmett Merritt said this time the mother-daughter duo also raised enough money to put a much-needed kennel in the back of their vehicle.
To learn more about what the mother-daughter team’s “Heat Alarm Campaign,” and see what their next local charity event is, visit their website at K9sUnited.org.