When thinking of trick-or-treating, you would think of kids going house to house. But on Friday, the Portage Animal Clinic in Brimfield wanted to give more than just candy. Cory York went to the event and has the details.

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Halloween is a time where kids go door-to-door looking for candy. In For the Potage Animal Clinic in Brimfield it means much more than just candy.

This is the fourth year the clinic has hosted a pet trick-or-treat fundraiser. Each year the clinic selects a different organization to help.

In a previous fundraiser, the clinic helped raise money for local fire departments. They were able to get new oxygen masks for all the area departments.

Amanda Siciliano is a supervisor at the Portage Animal Clinic and is glad the clinic is able to give back to the police department.

“We wanted to give back to their canine companions because they mean a lot to everybody in the community.”

This year their goal was to raise money to help pay for a new bullet proof vest for Brimfield Police’s newest K-9 unit, Pseudo.

“Some of the younger dogs we’ve met are just at the beginning  and they are going to need a way bigger vest later on. It is nice being able to help.”

But these vests for the dogs do not come cheap. Each vest runs the department nearly $2,000. And for Brimfield, 100% of that money comes through donations and fundraisers.

Sergeant Knarr has been with the Brimfield Police since 2001. For ten years of that time, Knarr has been a K-9 handler for the department.

Knarr is currently working with his three-year-old partner Havoc. Previously he worked with Ace, the department’s first K-9.

For Knarr, protecting the dogs is just as important as protecting any other officer on duty.

“The material they [dog’s vest] are made out of is very equivalent to the exact vest we wear as officers. But you cannot put a price on their lives. We need to get them vests for their safety as well. They protect us and they protect our citizens so you cant really put a price on that.”