CRC donates over $4,200 to K9 unit
Published 8:50 am Wednesday, March 14, 2018
- CRC President and CEO Chris Holt presents Officer Derek Ellis with a donation chec for $4,231.83. Photo provided.
The Cooperative Response Center donated a check for $4,231.83 to the Austin Police Department’s K9 unit from its 2017 fundraising efforts.
Each year, the CRC selects an organization for which to raise money. Last year marked the CRC’s 25th anniversary, and the CRC chose the APD K9 unit for its fundraising efforts. CRC employees raised the money, along with a matching donation from CRC up to $2,000.
CRC President and CEO Chris Holt presented the check to Officer Derek Ellis, who handles K9 Rudy for the APD.
“Our local police officers provide such an important service to the community, putting their lives at risk every time they report to work to keep us safe,” Holt said in a news release. “We’re happy to support their K9 program and hope that the money raised helps meet the needs of K9 Rudy and any other dogs that join the program in the future.”
CRC President and CEO Chris Holt presents Officer Derek Ellis with a donation chec for $4,231.83. Photo provided.
The money will be deposited into the APD’s K9 Foundation to help offset the cost of supporting the K9 unit. The department plans to spend $1,200 on the purchase of a full body padded bite suit to protect those acting as decoys during K9 training exercises. The rest will be saved for future expenses.
According to Austin Police Lt. Matt Holten, who supervises the K9 program, Rudy is deployed roughly 125 times per year. He assists the Southeastern Minnesota Narcotics Task Force and is used for drug searches in area schools. He has been recognized several times by the United States Police Canine Association for his work, including finding a loaded handgun that was discarded in a field by a convicted felon, finding eight grams of methamphetamine that was hidden in clay in a Play-Doh can, and apprehending a vehicle theft suspect who had fled from responding officers on foot.
This is not the first time CRC has donated to the K9 unit. In 2000, CRC donated money to help fund a two-week narcotics training force for the two dogs the K9 program had at the time.
The APD has also been supportive of CRC’s Mower County Humane Society Meet-and-Greet fundraisers in the past, offering a K9 demonstration at four of the events.
