HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – A New Jersey police service dog has a new patriotic doghouse compliments of a local woodworker who built it.
Lou Dibella donated the special red, white and blue doghouse to K9 Jada, a member of the Hackettstown Police Department, and her handler, Officer Christopher Laver.
“K9 Jada received her new home on Thursday and she is very excited,” the HPD wrote on its Facebook page.
Dibella wanted to donate the doghouse to a local K9 handler who was also a military veteran, the Lehigh Valley Express-Times reported.
As a result, Laver qualified. He served during the Iraq War with the U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division’s 57th Gun-Truck Company.
Jada became the police agency’s first K9 three years ago. The New Jersey police service dog is a Belgian Malinois.
“My passion for K9 started during my deployment as I worked with and observed military explosive detection dogs,” Laver said, according to the news agency. “That’s when I learned about the Malinois breed. I had no formal K9 training until… I purchased Jada as a puppy. From that point on, I would work with K9 handlers and civilian K9 teams to learn and observe.”
Officials of the Hackettstown Police Department said DiBella was inspired to make the doghouse after seeing President Trump honor K9 Conan, the military dog injured in the raid in Syria in October that killed Islamic State terror leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
