Community donation helps fit vests on K9s

Published 1:30 am Saturday, July 11, 2026

PORT ANGELES — Two Port Angeles Police Department K9s will be better protected while on the job thanks to a community donation.

Paul Collins, the owner and K9 handler of EnviroClean Northwest in Port Angeles, learned recently that K9s Freddy and Solo did not have ballistic vests and that one of the reasons was due to funding.

“I felt these dogs deserved the same level of protection as the officers they work beside,” Collins said in a news release.

Together with Joe Marvelle, the owner of The Warehouse Furniture, Collins raised money for the vests, which each cost $1,400.

“I put it together and Joe said ‘What do you need?’ and I said I needed just a little bit more money, and Joe put in the rest,” Collins said.

The PAPD is very happy with the donation of the ballistic vests, K9 Program Supervisor Officer Whitney Fairbanks said.

“We’re very grateful because now they can be safer in their deployments,” she said. “Generally, ballistic vests for dogs can be a couple thousand dollars each.”

Purchasing vests for Freddy and Solo was on the PAPD’s list of priorities, but the department doesn’t always have funding for such expenditures.

“When Paul reached out, he said he was willing to take on the fundraising and finding donors for that,” Fairbanks said.

While raising money, Collins also researched where he could find the right equipment.

“Collins spent considerable time researching the most effective K9 armor available — protection that could stop ballistic threats and defend against edged weapons while remaining lightweight, flexible and comfortable enough for the dogs to perform their demanding duties,” the news release stated.

Collins found Canarmor, a Canadian manufacturer of protective equipment.

“Through collaboration and determination, arrangements were made to bring the specialized vests to Port Angeles,” the release stated.

“After overcoming shipping and logistics challenges, the vests successfully arrived and are now ready to help protect Freddy and Solo during their missions.”

The new vests are bulletproof.

“They’re level 3A, which means they are rated for a higher-caliber bullet round, so it’s exactly the same as what officers would wear,” Fairbanks said. “The ones that were purchased also have stab protection to protect the dogs from any knife attacks as well.”

The dogs do not need the vests for every deployment they go out on, Fairbanks said.

“They would be used for deployments with higher threat levels, like if we know they are armed with a firearm or a knife or similar weapon,” she said. “We also work with the Peninsula Crisis Response Team, and those are the calls we would put the vests on the dogs with.”

The experience of raising money for and then purchasing the ballistic vests has led Collins to want to do more.

“My wife and I are starting a nonprofit, and Joe will be on the board, and we’re going to work together with PAPD Chief Brian Smith because he has a lot of great ideas also,” Collins said. “Dogs are expensive, and they’re very helpful tools.”

Collins has a unique understanding of the needs of K9s, since he uses dogs for his business, which detects mold inside buildings using specially trained dogs.

“I’ve been working with the dogs in the private sector since 2007, so I have a warm and fuzzy spot in my heart for these dogs to have a good life, and protection is the main thing,” Collins said.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.