Our Mission;

 

Friends of Solo is dedicated to the protection of our K9 officers by providing them with safety equipment such as, but not limited to, Ballistic body armor, Field trauma kits, Oxygen kits, Police cruiser alarm systems and Cooling vests. These items are essential for the health and safety of the K9's who are asked to be our front line of protection every day. 

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K9's are used in police work to locate dangerous narcotics or to find explosives and firearms or tracking and apprehending criminals or even helping to find a lost child or elderly person. In any one of these circumstances the dog's safety or life could be in jeopardy. And it is our mission to make sure they will be protected with the best equipment possible.

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The idea of helping K9's started well over 25 years ago when I read the story of a Police K9 named Solo who was at the scene of a gun battle in Bradley Beach, NJ. Solo was a German Shepherd K9 for the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office who was trained in search and rescue and to apprehend bad guys. On June 28, 1998, Solo was sent into a building to apprehend a bad guy who had barricaded himself in an apartment building for 22hours. Unfortunately, Solo was shot and killed that day doing his job. 

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But after reading that story, I made a promise to buy a bullet proof vest for a K9. So, in 2016 I wrote and published a children's book called "The Adventures of Solo, The Big Dog" and within five months of publishing, we purchased and donated our first ballistic vest. To date we have donated over 90 pieces of safety equipment to K9's across the United States.

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"The Adventures of Solo" children's book became the corner stone for this foundation, and we hope that you will continue to support our mission in protecting our K9 officers. 

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James Wiater

Founder and President

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