K-9 Vest Replacement Policy
Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog, Inc. began providing protective K-9 vests in 2000. Some of the K-9s we vested have retired; their vest can be passed onto their K-9 replacement.
If the new dog does not fit into the vest used by the previous dog, we are willing to order a suitable replacement vest. Should the original vest still be within the warranty period, we will take the vest back, to be given to a K-9 on our wait list (with the condition that we will replace that vest). Just like human vests, manufacturer’s warranty K-9 vests for 5 years. We have asked handler recipients to include the replacement K-9 vest in their budget.
Our hope is that the handler will be able to secure the replacement vest funding by telling of situations that he/she has had to use the protective K-9 vest. However, we realize that vests are still being used that have expired warranties, and therefore, we now welcome handlers whose K-9s vest is over 5 years old to apply for a replacement vest. Handlers will need to provide the vest manufacture date (found on the liner or inside the liner on the ballistic material), when they request being placed on the Replacement Wait List.
We have a three-tiered waiting list:
TIER ONE / First Priority – New K-9s – a department or law enforcement agency starts a brand new K-9 program or adds K-9s to their present K-9 team.
TIER TWO / Second Priority – K-9s whose first vest was a ‘hand-me-down’ due to size issues (see paragraph 2, above).
TIER THREE / Third Priority – Replacement of K-9 vests. Priority on this list is given to the oldest-manufacture-date vest holder.

2018 JANUARY
JAN K-9 Xito, a German Shepherd Dog, partner of Officer Joel Wun of the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department. PHOTO: David Shilale
2018 FEBRUARY
FEB K-9 Fozzie, a German Shepherd Dog, partner of Officer Kristen Chipman of the Milton Police Department. PHOTO: David Shilale
2018 MARCH
MAR K-9 Dodo, a German Shepherd Dog, partner of Officer Todd Lavigne of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. PHOTO: David Shilale
2018 APRIL
APRIL K-9 Koda, rescued from the Brewster Animal Shelter, a Beagle / Labrador Retriever, partner of Matt O’Brien, Sandwich Police Department officer and Massachusetts State Police Cape Cod Drug Task Force detective. PHOTO: David Shilale
2018 MAY
MAY K-9 Warner, a German Shepherd / Belgian Malinois, partner of Officer Eric Blair, Springfield Police Department. PHOTO: David Shilale
2018 JUNE
JUNE K-9 Marvin, a German Shepherd / Belgian Malinois, partner of Patrolman Matt Frydryk, Amherst Police Department. PHOTO: David Shilale
2018 JULY
JULY K-9 Bear, a Dutch Shepherd, partner of Officer Tom Stockwell, Uxbridge Police Department. PHOTO: David Shilale
2018 AUGUST
AUG K-9 Bosco, a German Shepherd Dog, partner of Corporal Teddy Vivenzio, Hampden County Sheriff’s Department. PHOTO: David Shilale
2018 SEPTEMBER
SEPT K-9 Kane, a German Shepherd Dog, partner of Officer Ryan Romano, Chicopee Police Department. PHOTO: David Shilale
2018 OCTOBER
OCT K-9 Bali, a German Shepherd / Belgian Malinois, partner of Officer Jeff Brossi, Massachusetts Department of Correction. PHOTO: David Shilale
2018 NOVEMBER
NOV K-9 Pablo, a Labrador Retriever, partner of Officer Bob Achille, Hingham Police Department. PHOTO: David Shilale
2018 DECEMBER
DEC / COVER K-9 Artur (Artie), a Czech Shepherd, partner of Officer James Ruddock, Montague Police Department. PHOTO: David Shilale
