K-9 officer Sonic has made 104 runs with officers this year, but was underdressed compared to his human partners. As of last week, he now has the same protection as his human companions when going into dangerous situations.

Sonic recently received his bullet-proof vest, which officers fundraised for earlier this year.

“I think a lot of the officers look at Sonic as a partner, and we respect his handler also, so getting the vest isn’t just for the dog, it’s for the partnership,” night patrol officer and Special Incident Response Team member Mark Walski said.

While it’s worth it for the officers to be wearing that protective gear, they also feel it’s just as important to protect K-9 officers like Sonic, who often times are tasked with going into dangerous situations looking for suspects. Lt. Matt Holten and K-9 partner Sonic have recently worked closer with SIRT, again highlighting the need for protection.

“I think watching Sonic train with us, [he] didn’t have the same protection,” Walski said.

That was when Walski decided to fundraise for the vest.

Police officers Mark Walski, Kim Lenz, Rian Jones and Tim Donovan ran in the Community Against Bullying’s Superhero Dash 5K in September wearing their 25-pound armored vests to raise money to buy Sonic’s protective armor.

Walski and Holten were thankful for all the support the community has given to them for the project.

“We’ve had a large support from the community for the K-9 program, so we’ve been very fortunate in that manner, and we can’t thank the citizens of Austin and who all donated [enough],” Walski said.

Other police departments have also integrated the K-9 vests to protect dogs. Reports of injured K-9 officers have grown, some in Minneapolis, with dogs shot or wounded when going into dangerous situations.

“It’s more of a proactive approach to law enforcement equipping the dog with a vest,” Walski said. “If the dog gets injured that causes a whole new set of problems on the scene, and we’re dealing with the situation with the dog, and then we don’t have the dog anymore.”

Monday afternoon was the second time Sonic has worn the vest. Holten said Sonic has reacted well to it, but even so he must get used to working in it.

“What I’ll do now, and with any piece of equipment that you get for a dog, is you start slowly with him, like today he’s just wearing it while I’m playing ball with him,” Holten said.

The two will escalate from there, having Sonic wear it during building searches and training exercises.

The cost of the vest was about $1,100, and the team raised over $1,500, with the extra money donated to the Community Against Bullying’s effort to raise awareness about bullying.

The vest was ordered last month and came in last week. It is camouflage color, because of the open-area searches Sonic will likely participate in. The vest is both stab and bullet resistant and is measured to fit the dog. Because Sonic, a Belgian Malinois, is small for his breed, even the smallest vest is slightly big on him.

“It’s pretty much the same thing as putting a vest on a person, for us it [protects] the torso and all your vital organs, and it’s pretty much the same thing on him,” Holten said. “Just has to be made to fit something with four legs.”

Although they have the vest, Sonic will likely only wear it in certain situations. Due to the weight and possibility of overheating, Sonic will likely not wear it on long searches or in every situation.

“The main application for him will be at building searches when we’re looking for people who we believe are armed,” Holten said.

Sonic is Austin’s only K-9 officer and has been with the Austin Police Department for about one and a half years. The department could fill the second space for a police dog. Walski said they would fundraise to get a second vest .