A new house for Bady
LOREN BENOIT/Press Parker Williams, with Ziggy's, helps load a dog house for Post Falls Police Department's newest K9. The house was unveiled Friday morning at Kootenai Technical Education Campus, where 23 students spent about 20 hours building it in just four days.
Post Falls Police Department's newest K9 officer-in-training, Bady, now has a premium place to wind down after a day of fighting crime.
"What we ask these dogs to do is pretty demanding. They're just like people,” said K9 handler and PFPD Senior Officer Frank Bowne. "You've got guys that have man caves. This is going to be his man cave."
An 8-foot-by-10-foot dog house, complete with fencing, a deck and enclosed space, was unveiled Friday morning at Kootenai Technical Education Campus, where 23 students spent about 20 hours building it in just four workdays.
"It was an honor to be able to that,” said KTEC construction instructor Casey Syth. "It was a lot of fun and I think the kids pulled it off really well. (Thursday) they really all pulled together and finished it."
The project gave students an opportunity to put their framing, finishing, roofing, decking and door installation skills to good use, all while working to meet a deadline.
"I'm just really proud of how they all worked together and got it done so quickly," Syth said.
A similar structure can cost around $3,000, but with the help of KTEC students and supplies provided by Ziggy's Building Materials at cost, the dog house was made available to PFPD for much less.
"We love to help out," said Ziggy's store manager Jake Dietz. "We're always trying to do stuff in the community to help and we love being a part of this. It's great."
Concrete slabs and dog houses in kennels are where K9 units usually call home. Bady's handler, Officer Daniel Koontz, said the KTEC structure, which is moveable, has everything Bady will need.
"He has an outdoor area, he has an indoor area to get out of the weather,” he said. "With the outdoor portion he can see what's going on and get some air and the inside portion is really important in the winter."
Koontz and his 19-month-old German shepherd partner will be in training for about 12 weeks. In the meantime, Bady will be enjoying his new digs as he prepares for patrol.
"We just want to say thanks to KTEC and thanks to Ziggy's for helping us make this a reality," said PFPD Assistant Chief Pat Knight.