HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A local woman and her company have donated five complete sets of body armor to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office K9 unit.
The K9 body armor vests are expensive — $800 each — and they're custom fitted for each dog.
"It's my community. That's it,” said Lisa Sisson.
Lisa Sisson keeps people cool for a living, she owns Knights Air Conditioning in Riverview.
"I made a phone call. He provided the measurements and I provided the credit card,” she said.
She donated the money for five new body armor vests for the youngest K9's at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Not only will it keep them safer, it'll keep the dog's cooler.
"Actually, they're rated for Florida dogs so they can work,” she explained.
It's easy to see how vulnerable K9's can be, a suspect can easily hurt a dog when they've latched on.
The Sheriff says Sisson stepped-up after she saw a news story air that showed K-9's in pursuit without vests.
"It would be almost impossible, budget-wise, to purchase a vest for a younger dog and then six months later, a year later, the dog continues to mature,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister.
Now Gus, Gunnar, Cezar, Tebow and Tonto will be protected just like their partners.
"We don't have the budget for it. The dogs would have to wait,” said Sheriff Chronister.
