FLOYD COUNTY, Va. – Protecting the dogs that protect you.
Laurel Turner has been living in Floyd County for over 20 years now.
Since coming to Virginia, this animal lover has made it her mission to save and protect as many animals as possible.
Before retirement, she worked in law enforcement for 23 years. And with all the years of experience, she knows how important K9 units are to their handlers.
“These dogs will take a bullet for their handler,” said Turner. “They’re part of the handler’s family.”
Each year, Laurel works to donate bulletproof vests to local agencies to help ease the pressure of tight budgets.
“So, if officers on the road have ballistic vests for protection, why not their partners?” Turner said.
And after three years of being able to donate vests, this year, the vet bills have taken a toll.
“Unfortunately, this year two dogs needed major surgery,” said Turner. “Three surgeries — $12,000.”
Her neighbor and longtime friend said she knew they could still do something to help.
“I said, ‘Well, you still want to do this, it’s important to you. There are ways to get other people involved and crowd-sourcing it,’” said Mindy Brinson.
She said since starting a GoFundMe, they’ve raised enough for one bulletproof vest, but there are still more dogs in the area that need the protection.
“We’ve already raised enough funds for one of those vests, but we would like to make sure the other three officers are covered as well,” Brinson said.
They said right now, they want to keep the donation pool open so they can continue to buy bulletproof vests as the money comes in.
If you would like to donate, you can find their GoFundMe here.