Police Dog Needs Our Help

On Aug. 13, 2006 a young Seattle area police officer was killed by a known drug user driving 50 miles an hour over the posted speed limit. Officer Joselito Barber was only 26 years old and just 5 months out of the police academy when he died.

That same year, when Lillian Jaycox died, she left $10,000 to the Gig Harbor Police Department. The GHPD used those funds to launch the Jaycox Gig Harbor Police Benevolent Fund. That fund helps area students attend college to study criminal justice and a program called "Holiday Helpers" to take children in need shopping for Christmas.

Chet Dennis, who is a member of the GHPD, had wanted to raise dogs to be trained for police work ever since he left the U.S. Army in 1999. He hoped to raise German Shepherds, foster them with a select group of Gig Harbor residents, train them for police work and then sell them to help continue the work being done through the Jaycox Gig Harbor Police Benevolent Fund. Each of the dogs in the program would be named to honor a fallen Washington state police officer.

Fast forward to the fall of 2008. Three German Shepherd puppies are being fostered by area families and Dennis is living his dream of raising dogs for this type of work and preparing to start training them. One of those puppies is named Lito to honor their own Officer Barber and is planned to become part of the GHPD once he is fully trained.

The family fostering Lito wakes one morning to find Lito in great pain and limping. They had seen him limping the previous week but had assumed it was simply a typical minor injury sustained by an active puppy. Unfortunately, poor Lito was limping due to a condition called Osteochondritis Dessicans (OCD). OCD is a degenerative condition that can only be treated through surgery. The quicker an afflicted animal can receive care, the better the outcome.

The foster family, Gregg, Margo and Kee May have gone above the call of duty by absorbing many of the costs for Lito's care. The surgery alone is expected to cost between $1,200 and $2,000.

The Jaycox fund and Dennis' K-9 Foster Parent program simply does not have the funds to pay for Lito's care - this is where you can help. Donations may be mailed to: Jaycox Gig Harbor Police Benevolent Fund, 3510 Grandview St., Gig Harbor, WA 98335, or by contacting the May family at 253-265-3356.