Nick McWilliams reporting – Efforts to erect a memorial for K-9 officers that have passed on in Dover got a major leg up on Monday night.
The idea behind a monument in the city was first brought up by Councilwoman Sandy Moss, who wanted to dedicate some form of homage to K-9’s like Rex, a Belgian Malinois who served for seven years before passing three months after his retirement.
During Monday’s council meeting, Officer Bill Nedrow, Rex’s handler, attended with his family to announce a sizable donation to the efforts to crowdsource the needed money for the memorial.
“I understand that we are working on the K-9 Memorial, and on behalf of my wife’s family, I am presenting you with a check so that we can get the ball moving for $15,000.”
The donation was met with a hug from Moss and a round of applause from those in attendance.
Nedrow said that it was the wish of his wife’s cousin to contribute part of her estate to the K-9 program and maintenance of the memorial due to her support of Rex, but decided it would be better to donate now so she could see the completion of the project.
Initial projected costs for a sandstone base, bronze statue, and other related costs were in the ballpark of $17,000, according to Moss in June.
Any unused portions of the donation are to be used for the operations of the K-9 department in Dover.
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