Aurora Police Department K-9 program awarded $3,000 grant

The Aurora Police Department’s K-9 program recently received a $3,000 grant from Colorado-based Newmont Mining Corporation. The donation was awarded through Spirit of Aurora, a non-profit organization established by the citizens of Aurora to enhance the quality of life in their community.

The police department’s K-9 program relies on grants, citizen contributions and events. The $3,000 grant will go toward the purchase of a replacement dog for the retiring long-time canine partner, Zacko. The average cost for a trained service dog is $7,500. 

A K-9 dog is an extremely valuable resource in the crime fighting efforts. Because of a dog’s sharp sense of smell, a well-skilled police K-9 can be groomed and trained to locate such things as suspects, dangerous drugs and explosive materials. Dogs will search areas that would be dangerous for officers alone to search. If a suspect wants to attack or fight with officers, the mere presence of a dog will often prevent violence.

The Aurora Police Department K-9 Unit was formed in 1975 with a single dog and handler. Since then, the unit has grown to seven dog handlers to include one sergeant and six officers.

Spirit of Aurora, who applied successfully for the grant in April, is governed by a volunteer board of directors comprised of area citizens and business leaders.  The organization provides a vehicle for foundations, corporations and individuals to contribute to municipal programs of the city of Aurora which provide a wide range of services to the community.