In the past two years, the community of Ventura has gathered twice to welcome two new K-9s into the Ventura Police Department family. The first gathering, which took place in March 2015, was to welcome Rover, a German Shepherd who was born in 2012 and purchased two years later for the department. The second gathering, in November 2016, was for the German Shepherd Jag, born in 2014 and purchased a year later. Both dogs were purchased with a generous donation from Land Rover Jaguar Ventura, who through the NPDF, donated $12,000 to aid in the purchasing and training of Jag and Rover.
The parties for Jag and Rover were lively experiences for the members of the community, the officers, the other K-9s in the unit, and the mayor, all of whom came together to meet the new K-9s. There was an abundance of entertainment and live music, but according to Kathy Aschoff, the Operations Manager of Land Rover Jaguar Ventura, the real purpose of the gatherings was to simply showcase the K-9s and the officers to the community. “It was so the residents of the City of Ventura could get to meet the dogs and handlers and see what great guys they are,” she says.
The donation in the honor of Jag and Rover was not an isolated event for the company. For the past 6 years, Land Rover Jaguar Ventura has sponsored the ‘Bark Out Loud’ comedy event, which benefits the Ventura County Police K-9 Unit, showing that they are truly committed to aiding the brave service of K-9s who keep us safe.
(L to R) Officer Rodriguez with K-9 Rover and Officer Hrynyk with K-9 Jag
“NPDF is proud to have assisted in the purchasing and training of Jag and Rover.”