Vernon residents raise funds for new K-9

Matthew Knox, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·2 min read

Nov. 23—VERNON — A group of residents has started a fundraiser to help the Police Department get a new police dog.

The department has one police dog, Tengo, after 8-year-old Thor died in October.

Lisa Moody, one of the organizers of the fundraiser, said the goal is to raise $30,000 to purchase a dog and pay for training and equipment. She hopes that amount will be raised by the end of the year.

It will be helped greatly by a matching donation from several individuals and business leaders, who have pledged a donation of $15,000, if the community raises at least that much.

"It's a nice way to build a sense of community," Moody said.

She said $30,000 should be more than enough for the new dog. The group will ask the town to put aside any leftover funds in a dedicated account for future K-9 expenses.

As of Monday, $4,200 had been raised.

"Vernon residents are consistently generous and always supportive of our Police Department. I am confident our friends and neighbors will help us exceed our goal," Moody said.

Thor served with Officer Bryan Sembersky for seven years as a patrol and drug-detection dog. He was trained to track people, search buildings and open areas, locate evidence, apprehend criminals, and protect Sembersky.

Town officials said the 8-year-old Belgian malinois/German shepherd mix had an autoimmune disease and pneumonia.

During his career, Thor's work spanned finding a burglary suspect in a building crawl space, detecting a firearm in the Hockanum River that was used in a homicide, and entertaining crowds at the town's National Night Out events.

The donors who have pledged matching donations are: Alan Friedman of Superior Energy, Jerry Bundy, Tom Scranton of Scranton Motors, Richard Clay of Clay Furniture Industries, Cliff Chapman of the Mansions at Hockanum Crossing, Kevin Santini of Santini Village Apartments, and Mike Baum of Farm Car Care.

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