Suiting up Zip

By Suzanne Laurent
Staff writer

July 18, 2008 02:50 am

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CHESTER — Jonathon Watson is on a mission.

The 11-year-old from Chester saw an episode of Animal Planet in June about a police K-9 dog who was killed in the line of action because the dog wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest.

"If he had a vest, he would have lived," Jonathon said. "They showed how a person raised money in a town in California to buy vests for all the police dogs."

That got Jonathon thinking, said his mom Maria Watson.

"He wanted to do something like that for a local police dog," she said.

Maria Watson called around and found out that the Chester police force did not have a dog and that the Derry department used a dog from Londonderry when they needed one to aid in a missing person or drug search.

She and Jonathon contacted Londonderry's K-9 officer John Perry and asked if Jonathon could raise money for a vest for Perry's dog, Zip. Perry told them Zip did have a vest, but it was heavy and the dog became overheated while wearing it.

So Jonathon searched online and found a lighter-weight vest, custom-fitted to each dog.

But they are expensive, costing between $500 and $1,000 each.

Perry met with Jonathon, and his mom took photos of Zip that Jonathon used to make labels for collection cans to raise the money.

"He wanted to stand in front of the local supermarkets with the cans but the stores wouldn't allow it for liability reasons," Maria Watson said.

So, they placed cans around Londonderry and Derry.

A Londonderry resident saw one of the cans at Movie Scene and e-mailed Town Councilor Kathy Wagner, saying she was upset that the town wouldn't pay for a vest for the dog.

"Of course, if Officer Perry came before the council and asked for the money for a vest we would give it to him," Wagner said.

Wagner called Maria Watson and found out that Jonathon really wanted to do this for Zip.

"We decided that this was so important to Jonathan, that we should just let him go ahead with it."

Maria Watson said that the whole project is a great confidence booster for her son.

"Jonathon is a twin and he was born premature," she said. "He's had a lot of difficulty in school and has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder."

In addition to his twin sister, Kayla, Jonathon has another brother Matthew, 8. He also has three cats and two dogs, Sasha, a 2-year-old black lab mix and Mandy, a 5-year-old pug.

"He just loves his animals," his mom said.

"When he was about 8, he told me he'd like to be a veterinarian or a scientist. I asked him what he would do if he was a scientist and he told me he'd invent a potion to cure sick dogs."

Jonathon said if he can raise the money for Zip, he'd like to "suit up all the police dogs in New Hampshire."

BOX

Collection cans for Zip can be found at:

r Derry Animal Hospital

r Handel with Care Veterinary, Derry

r Movie Scene, Londonderry

r Pets Plus, Londonderry

r Prosciutto's, Londonderry

Donations can also be made at the Citizen's Bank at 42 Pinkerton Street, Derry, by making out a check to: N.H. K-9 Vest Fund c/o Jonathon Watson

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