Attala County Sheriff Tim Nail announced this afternoon that the department has raised enough to purchase Victor, a K-9 that will work with Deputy Scott Walter. The department has been without a canine unit since the last dog had to be put to sleep last fall due to health issues.
Just this past Saturday, the department held a fundraiser at the Attala County Coliseum, raising $4,600 toward Victor's purchase and training costs.
"To this day, we have raised $11,500," said Nail. A grant from Entergy of Mississippi (which could be up to $5,000), a raffle being run by Entergy employees in McAdams, and a matching funds grant of $2,500 from Modern Woodman will ensure the department has at least the full cost of Victor and related training, estimated at $14,500 total.
Victor will arrive on Friday and will spend two weeks living with Walters, allowing the two to bond before the pair head to Hattiesburg for training together.
"Without the citizens jumping in and helping us with this, it would have been impossible," said Nail.
For his part, Walters is clearly excited to be working with a new canine.
"The opportunity to obtain the tool I need to do the job I've done my whole career is exciting. And to get this caliber of dog, I'm excited and motivated," he said. "Victor is special; he's going to be a great asset for us."
In addition to making the accouncement that that goal had been met, Holt Fancher, 5, drew names for the 308 Remington 783 for which raffle tickets were sold. The winner is Henry Roach. If for any reason Roach is unable to claim the prize, two backup winners were drawn, as well. They are Eddie Wamble and Brian Weeks.
