The February meeting of the Fulks Run Ruritans highlighted some of the furry friends in our Fulks Run community. From providing an affordable and vital service for local pets to animals providing crucial public safety services for our community, the February meeting recognized our four-legged friends.
The meeting followed closely on the heels of the Annual Rabies Vaccination Clinic, hosted by the Fulks Run Ruritan Club on January 28. Our community looks forward to this opportunity to help keep both our beloved pets and our community safe. We were thankful to have Dr. Burgess and his crew on-site to provide this important service to the pets in our community. This year, we also welcomed the Bridgewater 4-H Club who helped with this project. A total of 192 local animals were vaccinated, including 176 dogs and 16 cats. We were pleased to be able to bring you this service again this year, and we enjoyed meeting all our canine and feline locals. The Club would like to thank the community for making this project another great success!
While we certainly enjoy providing services to the beloved pets in our community, we are also grateful for the animals who serve us. During the February meeting, one such service animal was celebrated. The club welcomed Rockingham County Deputy Shawn Morris and his K-9, Vante, to the meeting. Deputy Morris presented information about the Rockingham County K-9 program and shared his experience working with the unit.
Did you know that dogs have been used by law enforcement since the Middle Ages? These specially-trained dogs are a vital part of our law enforcement community and achieve obedience training and certification in specialized areas of enforcement, including patrol duties, rescue and recovery, narcotics detection, or explosive detection—all of which are designed to ensure the safety of the people in the communities in which they serve.
At the club meeting, Deputy Morris introduced his K-9 and demonstrated some of his training. Vante is a Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix from Vohne Liche Kennels, which is a full-service training facility for K-9 police service dogs. Responding to both Dutch and English commands from his handler, Vante is a certified narcotics search dog and is trained to respond to other criminal activities as well. When he’s not working, Vante is a laid back, gentle, and friendly dog who seemed to enjoy all the extra attention at the meeting.
We really enjoyed our introduction to the K-9 program and many thanks to Deputy Morris and Vante for joining us. It takes a special breed to serve and protect our communities, and we are especially thankful to Deputy Morris and Vante for all their hard work to keep us safe!
The next meeting of the Fulks Run Ruritans will take place at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, March 7 at Fulks Run Elementary School.
