A southern California Girl Scout troop is helping keep the San Diego County Sheriff’s K-9 unit safe from rattlesnake bites.
Members of the Brownie Troop 3434 in San Diego donated part of their cookie sale money to fund hundreds of dollars’ worth of rattlesnake vaccines for the dogs, KSWB reported.
The girls raised enough cash to donate $900 worth of anti-venom and decided to spend $350 on training tools for the K-9s, KSWB reported.
K-9 units help police by getting into places where deputies cannot, but the dogs can come face-to-face with danger, including rattlesnakes.
“We actually had one of our dogs here at the kennel that was bit last summer,” Sgt. Jacob Pavlenko said.
That’s why the troop chose to donate some of its cookie sales to help purchase vaccines for the dogs.
“Nobody likes snakes, nobody wants to be bitten by a snake so they thought the animals probably wouldn't like that either and so they decided that was a good opportunity for them,” troop leader Shannon Weaver told KSWB.
Troop representatives approached the Judy Vet Clinic in charge of the Sheriff’s K-9s' veterinary care and were told that the 31 dogs needed rattlesnake vaccines. After hearing the Girl Scouts' story, a vaccine company donated 25 doses on the girls’ behalf. The Judy Clinic then donated the remaining six doses needed.
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