Bellevue girl raises money for K-9 police vest

BELLEVUE, Neb. (WOWT) - We first introduced you to Brandi Kawula last June.

“These are all-natural so they’re all whole wheat flour, wheat germ, egg, and water,” Brandi said as she showed us some of the treats from her company Dogalicious Dog Treats.

She was getting ready for the Papillion Farmer’s Market that weekend and helping her 11-year-old daughter Izzy fundraise to buy a K-9 police vest.

Now checking in nine months later, their hard work paid off.

“He works patrol and narcotics. So patrol being he’ll go out and find bad guys for us and narcotics he’ll sniff for drugs,” Bellevue police officer Jim Bartley said while talking about his K-9 Max.

The K-9 unit at the Bellevue Police Department is made up of four dogs, only two have vests.

“It’s not something we can budget for because the dog’s life, working life is anywhere from 5-7 years. So typically it’s not something we’re able to buy,” Officer Bartley explained.

That’s why Izzy Greenfelder stepped in.

“When we went to their training they said they wanted lightweight, bulletproof vests, so I wanted to help them,” Izzy said.

In the past year, Izzy has raised over $2,000 to buy Max a custom vest to keep him safe alongside his partner.

“I have a vest on that I always wear to work, and it makes me more confident when I go out and do my job,” Officer Bartley said. “So now knowing that Max has one as well, this is a really nice gift.”

While this is the first vest the Dogalicious Dog Treat company has been able to buy, it won’t be the last.

“Starting this year wear doing dog scarves and now dog seatbelts that we’re putting labels and just different crafts on to keep raising money,” Kawula said. “So whether it’s for another dog for Bellevue or maybe one of the other community areas.”

Izzy hopes that other kids her age will get out and help the community as well.

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