The Gwinnett Braves announced today that the Cody Fund, at the Community Foundation of Northeast Georgia, is the recipient of the Gwinnett Braves October grant. The $1,000 grant will be used to purchase a new Police K-9 for the Snellville Police Department.
“We are extremely grateful to the Gwinnett Braves and the Cody Fund for providing funds toward the purchase of a new Police K-9 and training of a K-9 and handler,” said Roy Whitehead, Chief of the Snellville Police Department. “Our K-9 units have been extremely beneficial in preventing and solving crimes which make Snellville a safer place to live. The purchase of this dog would not have been possible without this generous grant.”
The Gwinnett County K-9 Unit has six police canine teams that provide support to the Uniform and Criminal Investigations Divisions. Their primary duties include tracking lost or missing persons, tracking wanted persons, finding evidence or lost property, conducting building searches, serving high risk warrants and locating illegal narcotics. In addition the unit also has a K-9 Team trained to detect explosive materials and provides support to the department’s EOD Unit.
The Cody Fund was created to support police K-9 units in Gwinnett County. Kathy Gestar, an avid dog lover, attended the Snellville Police Academy in 1999 and was impressed by the service that officers and their K-9’s provide to protect Gwinnett residents.
Moved by the need for additional dogs and equipment, Gestar founded the Cody Fund, named after her beloved Sheltie that passed away in 2008.
Since its inception in 1999, the Cody Found has awarded grants for the purchase and training of K-9 dogs, as well as for their specialized medical care and K-9 unit equipment.
Organizations interested in applying for a Gwinnett Braves grant can visit the Community page on gwinnettbraves.com for more information.