The Olathe Police Department has a new bulletproof vest for one of the dogs in their K9 Unit thanks to the generosity of a local 7-year-old boy.
Grant Schroeder wanted to find a way to help the department and show support for the officers who serve and protect the community.
Schroeder’s mom, Melissa, said he has wanted to be a police officer for the last five years. He always walks up and introduces himself to every officer he sees, and every officer has sat down and greeted him. His mom says he calls police officers “real-life superheroes.”
Grant Schroeder smiling with Lenexa police officers. (Courtesy of Captain Diana Mendoza)
Ofc. Mills received a vest for his K9 Axel from 7 yo Grant who raised $1,200 to buy the vest. Thank you Grant for helping keep our K9s safe! pic.twitter.com/8bgEi94SSq
— Olathe Police (@OlathePolice) December 1, 2016
A soon as he heard that one of the dog’s needed a vest he ran to the cabinets and grabbed the Kool-Aid, his mom told 41 Action News. Schroeder explained to his mom that he was going to raise $1,000 and needed to call his grandma to see if she would bake cookies to sell too.
“He truly wants to do good for other people,” Schroeder’s mom said.
Not even a half and hour went by, and he was already on the driveway selling she said.
Schroeder told all of his officer friends about the fundraiser and his mom posted about it on social media. Officers from all over pulled up on the street to donate money, and at one point his mom said there was no room to park on the street.
With the help of his mom and an organization called Going to the Dogs, Schroeder raised $1,200 to buy the vest for Officer Ian Mills’ K9, Axel.
According to Sergeant Logan Bonney with the Olathe Police Department, the aspiring police officer raised the money in just four days.
The vest was presented to Mills and Axel on Wednesday night.
Before the presentation of the vest, Schroeder and his mom bought bones for all the dogs in the K9 unit, and had his grandma make extra cookies for the officers. The Lenexa Police Department even invited him over to help package the cookies and decorate the vest with a bow.
Grant Schroeder with Lenexa police officers while Shawnee officers are posing around the corner. (Courtesy of Captain Diana Mendoza)
Bonney said the donation was very beneficial to the department and will help keep Axel safe.
“We are super proud of him and what he’s accomplished," he said.
Twenty K9 Unit dogs still need vests in the metro area, and Schroeder has no plans to stop raising money for them.
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