Middlesex K-9 gifted protective vest
VALENCIA — Middlesex Township Police Department’s K-9 Bolt will receive a bullet- and stab-protective vest courtesy of Vested interest in K9s — a nonprofit charity foundation.
“Sandy Marcal is the founder and president; I happen to know Sandy,” said officer Mark Heider, Bolt’s handler. “When I had my previous dog, that’s where their vest came from.”
Heider, who has been working with K-9s for nearly 16 years, has had two previous K-9 partners.
His last K-9, Mibo, died Aug. 14, 2022, after a medical emergency. Bolt inherited Mibo’s vest after Heider took him on last fall.
“Sandy had said to me that when — and that was the big if — when I get another dog after Mibo passed, that the next vest would be taken care of,” Heider said. “Once he reached the age and such for their requirements, I did the application, and we just got the award notification last Thursday.”
Heider said the new vest will be custom-fitted to Bolt, and will be lighter and stronger than his previous vest.
“The vests are like, I think, somewhere between $800-$900,” he said.
While Mibo’s vest was sponsored by a company in California, Heider said Vested Interest in K9s personally sponsored Bolt’s new vest.
“Whoever applies for a vest is usually just put on a waiting list until money is available,” he said. “He was a quick turnaround simply because they were the sponsors.”
Since 2009, the foundation has provided more than 5,000 vests to K-9s across the United States, made possible by both private and corporate donations.
“They also donate Narcan for our dogs — if dogs get into a bind during detection work,” Heider said. “First-aid kits, they donate and a couple of other things.”
Additionally, Heider said the department received a wealth of donations after Mibo’s death. The largest donations came from Paracca Interiors on Route 8, the United States Police Canine Association and an anonymous donor.
Twinbrook Animal Clinic also provides free veterinary care for the department, while the Saxonburg Feed Company and Hill’s Science Diet provides free dog food.
“I’m a bit overwhelmed by all of the support,” Heider said. “The words, ‘thank you,’ to everyone don’t seem like they’re enough.”
Bolt’s new vest will be embroidered with the phrase, “In loving memory of K-9 Mibo — EOW 8/14/22.” The vest honors Heider’s dog, Mibo, which passed away on Aug. 14, 2022.
Having worked in law enforcement for more than 30 years, Heider said he was drawn to K-9 work in the department.
“It’s like having a partner on four legs,” he said, laughing. “I always have a partner, you know, I don’t have to wait for somebody to come back me up.”
Heider’s family grew up with hunting dogs, and he said he began working with K-9s after Region 13, a Pennsylvania task force, started a K-9 program.
“It’s been a bad addiction ever since,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of things in my career. This is definitely the most rewarding.”
After Mibo’s death, Heider said he met Bolt, a 2-year-old German Shepherd, through contacts in North Carolina.
“My contacts down there, who I trust very much, narrowed it down to two dogs for me,” Heider said. “We went down and screened them both, and this was the choice.”
Heider said he chose Bolt after noting his screening was “off the charts.”
“We test them for what we call ‘drives,’ which are basically motivation, character-type stuff,” he said. “So his drive evaluation was very, very good.”
Directing Bolt in Dutch phrases, Heider also explained that Bolt was native to Poland and routed through a Dutch supplier.
“Everybody always thinks, ‘Oh, it’s just like something covert, so nobody can understand,’” Heider said with a laugh. “It’s typically just country or supplier of origin. My first one was a Czech-born German Shepherd, I had to speak Czech.”
Heider said Bolt is a “dual-purpose” K-9, trained for narcotics detection and patrol.
“A dual-purpose dog is something that I can use on patrol for patrol tasks like tracking bad guys or someone who gets lost, evidence recovery ... or anything, he’ll search an area and find it,” Heider said. “He’ll do buildings searches. He’ll do what you see on TV, he’ll help apprehend somebody.”
Since June, Heider said he and Bolt have been called out three times.
“One was domestic violence and one was an assault and one was narcotics detection in a vehicle,” Heider said. “So those are my three most recent.”
But, in spite of the seriousness of Bolt’s duties, Heider said he is “a very social dog.”
“He’s very happy,” he said. “Very social, very happy.”
