When two loving pet owners heard about a series of police-dog deaths that could have been prevented if the dogs had been wearing protective vests, they knew they had to do something to protect these brave animals. So they founded Project Paws Alive, Inc., and now they and their dedicated volunteers spend their nights and weekends—on top of their own jobs—working to ensure that law-enforcement and military canines, as well as domestic pets affected by trauma, receive the same protection and life-saving measures as their human counterparts. The initiative receives requests from civil-service agencies around the country for equipment such as stab- and bulletproof vests for police dogs, canine field-trauma kits, cooling vests, and oxygen masks for domestic pets suffering from smoke inhalation. Often this equipment is too costly for agencies to purchase themselves, or it is prohibited by governmental restrictions but can help police departments, fire departments, and medical first responders save the lives of dogs that work hard to keep humans safe.

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