Parkersburg P.D. K-9 unit receives “Pizza Pizza Paws” donations

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - Little Caesar’s ”Pizza Pizza Paws” program raised over $30,000 to help police K-9′s.

Thirty police dogs in the area are getting “on the go” kits. The kits include a non-spill water bowl, a tab leash, an air conditioning hose, a tote bag and dog waste bags.

Parkersburg Police Department K-9 handler, patrolman first class Joshua Thrasher said this is a big help.

“We also got to look at the time you spend with the dog. They become a family member. It’s like having another kid. He pretty much sleeps in the bed with me. He lives in the house with me with our other dog. They go on family trips with us. And to be able to have everything we need to do the job correctly and safely, it’s tremendous,” Thrasher said. “Because as much as my wife and kids want me to come home, they want him to come home as well. So, it’s a great help. It’s a great program and I’m glad they support and support local K-9′s.”

Thrasher said this goes a long way for the K-9′s at the station.

“Every year when they come out, they come to us, they say, ‘What do you think you guys would like? What would be good for your dogs?’ And then they cater to those needs. And sometimes they’ll get different handlers, different stuff. Depending on what they need. Because a lot of smaller departments can’t get everything they need for their dogs,” Thrasher said.

Thrasher wants to thank Little Caesar’s for these donations.

A statement from Little Caesar’s Pizza district supervisor, Teresa Bryan:

With great community support, the 2023 Little Caesars Pizza Pizza Paws campaign successfully reached our $30,000 dollar goal. The goal was to provide 185 police K9 handlers Ohio and WV with “on the go” kits. The kits included a Cool K-9 AC hose system, non spill water bowl, Tactipup tab leash and dog waste bags. I was able to provide these for 30 of our local handlers, Wood County, Parkersburg City, Marietta City, Belpre, Washington county and also including all of our school resource dogs. During the month of April, Little Caesars held the fundraisers inside of our locations. This important campaign was to increase support and awareness for the police K9 divisions in our communities. Many of our K9 divisions are funded by donations but mostly by the handlers themselves. We are very appreciative to our customers, partners and employees for making this years campaign a success. This is our fourth year of providing essential needs to our local K9′s. It is a great feeling knowing we provided tools to help them while they are serving our towns.

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