FREEHOLD – K-9 Fuze of the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office is just a little bit safer these days, thanks to some help from nine-year-old Will Aninowsky.
The Little Silver resident recently volunteered his birthday money to purchase a new bullet proof vest for the police dog, which Sheriff Shaun Golden gratefully accepted.
“Will’s birthday wish will enhance the safety of our K-9s and the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office is extremely grateful for his generosity and dedication,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden. “Members of our K-9 Unit are called upon year-round to assist local police departments with narcotics detection, explosive detection and criminal or missing person searches and it’s crucial they are protected while maintaining public safety.”
Will came up with the idea after the Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit treated Will’s Cub Scout Pack 3 in Little Silver to two K-9 demonstrations, and he learned firsthand how the dogs protect the public. He decided to do something special as a way of saying thanks.
“After I got to meet the police dogs through Cub Scouts, I thought it would be important for the dogs to have bullet proof vests,” said Will. “Then I thought I could use my birthday money to buy the dog a vest. It makes me happy to keep a dog safe.”
K-9 vests cost on average $850 to $1,000. Will set up a GoFundMe page to raise a portion of the money, and the rest was raised through his birthday money.
Once the K-9 vest was purchased, Will, his father Bill Aninowsky and some of his friends who donated to the cause at his birthday party presented the vest to Sheriff Golden, S/O Ralph Irizzary and his partner Fuze, who is trained in explosive detection.
“I’m proud of my son for taking on such a worthy cause. These K-9s are an incredible resource in maintaining safety throughout Monmouth County and it’s also a great way to show our appreciation to law enforcement,” said Bill Aninowsky.
K-9 Fuze definitely has some company. The Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit is made up of seven handlers and eight K-9s, including two explosive/patrol teams, three narcotics/patrol teams, one explosive team, one tracking team and one narcotics team. Last year, the K-9 Unit responded to 144 explosive detection calls, 392 tracking calls and 318 narcotics calls. It conducted over 150 K-9 demonstrations, such as the one performed for Will’s Cub Scout Pack.
