LUMBERTON — Keeping law enforcement officers safe is a priority for Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins.
It doesn’t matter if the deputies have two legs or four.
That’s why a fundraiser is scheduled Tuesday at The Wing Co. in Lumberton. Wilkins is looking to raise $16,000 with which to buy safety equipment for the office’s K9 squad.
That includes bullet-proof vests, specialized trauma kits to treat any K9 officer injured on the job, and specialty training to keep them on their toes.
The canine corps has increased from one to five. Manic, the department’s current police dog, recently gained four comrades to help him take a bite out of crime.
Manic, a Belgian shepherd, and his handler, Sgt. Colby Houser, are assigned to the newly formed Community Impact Team. Houser is training to become a master K9 instructor, which would allow him to train police dogs for the Sheriff’s Office and nearby agencies needing assistance, Wilkins said.
The new K9s and their handlers are Brutus, a Dutch shepherd, and Deputy Ryan Stone; Rex, a Belgian shepherd, Deputy Brandon Oxendine; Diesel, a Belgian Malinois, Deputy Colin Hunt; and Axel, a German shepherd, Deputy Derrick Buffkin.
Special kennels with tops and cement floors had to be installed at the home of each handler, Wilkins said.
The additional dogs allow the Sheriff’s Office to have a K9 available around-the-clock for each patrol squad, Wilkins said.
The dogs are known as “full patrol K9s.”
They are capable of sniffing out drugs in vehicles and buildings or other articles that may be valuable evidence in a case, Wilkins said. They are trained to track people, including missing persons and criminals who are on the run.
The money raised will be funneled through the Never Forget 9-11, a North Carolina nonprofit that assists first responders and active duty and retired military. The Wing Co. is donating 10 percent of its sales between 6 and 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Donations are tax-deductible, and a check in full will be forwarded to the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office K9 Fund, administered through the county finance office,” Wilkins said. “Donations are also being made directly to the Sheriff’s Office K9 Fund, again administered through the county finance office. All funds come to the sheriff’s K9 program directly and not to the general fund.”
The K9s will be at the fundraiser.
Wilkins does have some advice for anyone tempted to test the mettle of the K9s.
“I would highly suggest to the criminal element, if you hear a Robeson County deputy sheriff yell out the words, ‘Sheriff’s K9,’ I would stop immediately and follow the instructions of the deputy.”
