Saving Sgt. Snitch

It’s a dog’s life — and a doggone tough one at that. When he’s on duty, Sgt. Snitch faces some tough customers as a narcotics officer for the Maries County Sheriff’s Department. His fellow K9s have been punched, stabbed, poisoned, drugged and shot by fleeing suspects. But recently the K9 cop and his handler, K9 Deputy Tiffaney Johnson, learned they had some “powerful” friends.

In July, Gascosage Electric Cooperative and its internet subsidiary GTech Fiber presented the team with equipment that will help keep him safe while protecting citizens of the county. The gear includes hearing protection, goggles, a trauma kit and Narcan, which can reverse the effects of narcotics exposure. As soon as the friendly Belgian malinois born in the Czech Republic is fully grown, he will be fitted with body armor.

All of the gear is tagged with the GTech logo as a reminder the cooperative takes seriously the cooperative principle of Concern for Community. Money for the gear came from a Sharing Success matching grant from CoBank, a cooperative that loans money to help Gascosage improve reliability and bring fiber internet to its service area. GTech Fiber put up the other half of the $3,400 cost and purchased the equipment through K9s of Valor.

The idea came from the cooperative’s accountant, Rose Gabel, who has worked with K9s of Valor on similar projects in the past. “I saw their Facebook post that they were bringing Sgt. Snitch into their office. I thought this was an opportunity for us to use the CoBank Sharing Success. Gascosage likes to work with our community. They protect us, so it’s a good fit,” she says.

The department was delighted to receive the assistance, says Chief Deputy Scott John: “This is the type of equipment that a lot of agencies overlook because of budget constraints. We’ve already stretched our budget by purchasing the dog and sending Deputy Johnson to training. He’s a young dog. He’s just getting started in Maries County and this equipment will keep him safe for many years.”