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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- A local group dedicated to the health and well-being of animals made a donation to a very important canine in the Ottumwa community.

Shariek is the Ottumwa Police Department's K-9 officer, and Tuesday night at Main Street Ottumwa's "Soup and the Scoop" event, John Hartley of HOGS4DOGSUSA donated a Kevlar vest to the department for Shariek to wear.

The donation has been months in the making.

"Last year at the home show, we were talking to Chief Clark, asking him about a flack jacket for the K-9 officer, he said he didn't have one," Hartley said. "The city budget - they'll run anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500 - the city just doesn't have the money to do it, so we started putting things together for it and talking to some of our riders and they thought it would be a great cause."

Hartley said they bought the vest from a manufacturer out of California, and presenting it at the event Tuesday night was especially great because it introduced the mission of HOGS4DOGSUSA to a new crowd of folks who may not have known what the group was all about.