WYOMING — Today the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) is welcoming its newest member to the agency, a two-year-old Belgian Malinois from Mexico named Frankie.

K9 Frankie’s handler will be Deputy Krystal Mansur who has been training with her for the past few weeks. Frankie is trained to detect illegal narcotics.

Sublette County Sheriff’s Office K9 Frankie received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Frankie’s vest was embroidered with the sentiment “In memory of K9 Ike, Vancouver Police Department”.

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. has a mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. The potentially lifesaving body armor for four-legged K9 officers is U.S. made, custom fitted, and NIJ certified. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. has provided over 4,200 vests to K9s in all 50 states at a value of $6.9 million, made possible by both private and corporate donations.

The program is open to U.S. dogs that are at least 20 months old and actively employed and certified with law enforcement or related agencies. K9s with expired vests are also eligible to participate. There are an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States.

“Welcome to the SCSO K9 Frankie!” SCSO said on social media.