100 Club of Aransas County

On May 1st, 2020 two year old German Shepard K9 KILO unexpectedly passed away, just minutes after returning to his kennel. He spent his last hours happily training & playing with his handler. Although it was a Saturday and his day off, KILO and handler Investigator Nanny with the Aransas County Sheriff's Office, were always spending time sharpening their skills together. K9 KILO's loss leaves a deep emotional and literal hole in the ACSO. In 2017 Hurricane Harvey hit Rockport Texas head on, ripping apart Aransas County, and placing an unprecedented strain on the Sheriff's Office. 18 of the 25 Fleet vehicles were destroyed by the winds and flying debris, the main communication tower held until just after the eye hit, then it too snapped and succumbed. These losses, among others, combined with the increased demand placed on the deputies, investigators, staff, and Sheriff have strained the budgets. Budgets that are shrinking rather than growing with the needs, because the tax base in the county was also crippled by the storm. In the Fall of 2019 one of the ACSO K9's was retired, and KILO was purchased through a San Antonio area K9 training program. KILO worked alongside K9 URSO who has served the ACSO for 6 years and is set to retire within the next year. The financial strain of now unexpectedly replacing these 2 valuable dogs back to back is more than this recovering budget can bear. My name is Gillian Cox, I am wife of Sergeant Tate and dog-mom to his K9 URSO. I am organizing this fundraiser to establish a K9 Fund to help purchase future ACSO K9’s, send them and the handlers to trainings, as well as provide much needed protective equipment for them. All money donated will be accepted by the 501C3 “100 Club of Aransas County” and in turn given directly to the Aransas County Sheriff’s Office for the specific and sole purpose of K9 use. The 100 Club’s overall mission is “Commitment to the Peace Officers of Aransas County Is to provide lifesaving equipment for officers such as ballistic vests, duty-related education, training for officers, & financial aid to families of deceased officers.” More information about the 100 Club can be found at http://100clubofaransascounty.org or https://www.facebook.com/100ClubAransasCounty/.