Westfield Police Officer Christopher Coach and Mako with Vest-a-Dog volunteer Laural Charland on Wednesday. (Photo by Christine Charnosky).
WESTFIELD – Earlier this year, Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog donated ballistic vests for the Westfield Police Department’s canine unit and on Wednesday the organization donated first aid kits.
Westfield Police Officers Steven Carrington and Christopher Coach acquired their new police dogs, Ares and Mako, nearly a year ago.
Vest-a-Dog’s mission is to “support Massachusetts Police dogs by helping provide bulletproof vests (our primary goal), essential equipment, training, and purchase of dogs for police/law enforcement K-9 programs throughout Massachusetts,” according to its website, http://mavestadog.org
Laural Charland, a volunteer with Vest-a-Dog, who delivered the two canine first aid kits to the Westfield Police Department, said the organization, located in Walpole, started 15 years ago.
Coach said, “This is the first-ever dog-specific first aid kit” that the department has had.
Coach, who has been with the WPD for 15 years, had police dog Falco on the force with him for seven and a half year before getting Mako. Falco is now retired and lives with Coach.
Coach said that Falco is not happy when he sees his owner in uniform because he still wants to accompany him to work, but Coach retired him due to Falco’s hip pain.
“I always wanted to be a police officer and I always loved dogs,” said Coach. “So this is perfect!”
Carrington said Ares is his first dog with the Westfield Police Department.
Westfield Police Officer Steven Carrington and his dog, Ares, share a moment after a canine first aid kit was donated by Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog on Wednesday. (Photo by Christine Charnosky)
Carrington, who has been with the WPD for 21 years, was a handler while he served as Military Police in the Army for eight years in Korea.
Ares, who is approximately two and a half years old, is a German Shepherd Malinois cross and Mako, the same age, is a German Shepherd. Both dogs were born in the Netherlands, said Carrington.
Since there are only (though the officers said two dogs is a lot for a police department to have) two dogs on the force, Carrington and Coach are perpetually on call.
Mako and Ares are trained in narcotics, said Carrington, and the officers went to school with them for eight weeks this year.
Coach said that at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning Mako helped locate a suicidal patient who had escaped from Baystate Noble Hospital barefoot wearing only a hospital gown. Officers checked the woods and couldn’t find her, but Mako led Coach straight to the woman who was freezing since the temperature was in the 20s, Coach said.
Charland said the funds for the first aid kits were raised primarily by CrossFit Swarm of Westfield and Westfield Feed plus Elm Pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts on Main Street via coin change boxes.
Each first aid kit costs $200 and contains everything needed in case the canine sustains any injuries while on the job.
Carrington and Charland said they want to thank the people of Westfield for the donations that made getting the first aid kits possible.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
