MANASQUAN — The Manasquan Police Department’s K-9 unit and the Manasquan Police Benevolent Association Local 284 [PBA] will host a fundraiser for Taz, the new K-9 dog, on Saturday Oct. 28 at the Reef and Barrel restaurant.
The fundraiser will last from 2 to 5 p.m. and feature cornhole [weather permitting], live music and a 50/50 raffle with prizes. Entry costs $20 and includes a buffet and one free drink. There will also be apparel for sale from the PBA and the K-9 unit.
There will be a parking lot party, weather permitting, and leashed dogs will be allowed there, but not inside. The event will be rain or shine but would not have an outside portion in the event of rain.
K-9 Taz joined the police department in September after his predecessor, K-9 George, retired. His handler, Ptl. Ryan Quigley, said that 100 percent of the proceeds from this fundraiser will go to Taz’s equipment and training, which the department does not currently pay for. Taz’s equipment includes harnesses, leashes and collars, but Ptl. Quigley said that he also pays for food, veterinarian bills, grooming and training aids.
Taz is currently trained as an explosives detection dog, able to recognize 25 different kinds of odors, said Ptl. Quigley. After a break from training in the summer, Taz resumed training and, in about five weeks, will be fully trained in human tracking in addition to detecting explosives.
For the explosives training, Taz needed training aids, which Ptl. Quigley said were purchased with donated funds and cost around $7,000.
He said that the department bought Taz from Green Leaf Pet Resort in Millstone, a multi-purpose pet resort that also offers police dogs from overseas; he said Taz is from Hungary. He added that they paid for Taz with donations from the Manasquan Elks and the Turkey Trot.
Manasquan’s K-9 unit formed before he had joined the department, said Ptl. Quigley, but it was funded with donations since the department lacked the necessary funds. Since then, he said, it has operated on donations, hence why they need the fundraiser, which he said will be held each year.
He added that he hopes the town will be able to pay for some of the K-9 expenses “down the road,” which would mean he would not have to hold the fundraiser every year.
When Taz’s human tracking training is complete, he and Ptl. Quigley can answer calls from other towns to go help them with issues they may have that require the help of a K-9 dog, whether it be for explosives sweeping or tracking a missing person.
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