At a brief ceremony Friday, April 19, at Lebanon City Hall, city officials accepted a $2,350 donation from Lebanon Valley Craft Brewery to fund the purchase of a new bulletproof vest for K-9 officer Ares.
Ares, a 2-year-old Belgian malinois who was bred in the Netherlands, was sworn into the Lebanon City Police Department force in March. His handler is Officer Erin Secoges, although Ares and Secoges were not in attendance at the ceremony, as they are typically on patrol overnight.
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The money was raised through a fundraiser event held Friday, April 12, at the brewery.
“We are part of the community,” said brewery partner Michael Osborne. “We wanna give back to the community, and so anything we can do to improve the City of Lebanon, we would like to do.”
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Osborne said none of the brewery staff have personal ties to the city police department, but they’re all big law enforcement supporters and have other connections to the field.
In addition to a dollar-per-drink donation, the brewery also collected contributions through raffles and gift baskets.
Lebanon city police Chief Bret Fisher said that the outreach from the community when it comes to the police canine program is overwhelming – and it’s a great public relations tool.
“Most people have a dog, they enjoy dogs, and I think it just is a good parallel to be able to walk up and talk to a police officer with a dog, you sort of already have that connection,” he said.
Fisher said that Secoges has been enjoying her time as a K-9 handler so far.
“There’s always a learning curve with anything new that you start, but it seems like she’s taking up the challenge and I expect them both to have a good, long, lengthy career together,” he said.
Fisher said that Lebanon police have always had great community support.
“People talk about things that happen all over the country or a different city, and they think it comes here – on occasion, we do have things happen in Lebanon city, but for the most part, good things happen here,” he said.
Fisher said the best way to support the department and K-9 program is to let officers “know how you feel about the police and that you support them and they’re doing a good job.”
The public can also contact the department and leave a comment about an officer, and hopefully a compliment. “Compliments are always welcome,” said Fisher. People can always make a donation to the K-9 fund, he added.
The brewery, for its part, is dog friendly, too.
Although Lebanon Valley Craft Brewery allowed dogs inside before its kitchen opened earlier this year, now that it’s nice out, dogs and their human companions are welcome to hang out on the front porch and enjoy one of several new beers coming this spring. The brewery also plans to build a beer garden outside that will be very dog friendly, Osborne said.
To stay up to date with what’s on tap at the Lebanon Valley Craft Brewery, visit their website. For more information about the K-9 fund, call Lebanon police at 717-272-6611.
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