Fundraiser: Help Gambit the K9 Fight Drugs in Chelan County Jail
A fundraiser is underway for Gambit, Chelan County Jail's four-year-old drug interdiction dog.
A Border Collie mix, Gambit is specially trained to detect six odors.
According to his trusted handler, Deputy Jacob Lewis, Gambit grew by leaps and bounds in his first full year on the job. Gambit conducted some 200 searches in area schools and correctional facilities. Over 30 of these searches uncovered illicit drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Behind the walls of Chelan County Jail, inmate drug use still occurs, but it's not the entrenched problem it once was. The jail's K9 program is paying dividends despite a stiflingly modest budget. (The cost of caring for Gambit is borne largely by private donors; otherwise there'd be no need for this fundraiser.)
In four short years, "CCRJC K9 has become the model for other jails wanting to start their own program," according to Lewis' fundraising pitch. "To date, three additional jails in Washington have successfully started there own K9 programs with the assistance of CCRJC K9."
Gambit was among the first K9s in Washington to sniff out fentanyl. Again, that kind of strictly specialized training isn't cheap.
His predecessor, a Border Collie named Kait, was just as fearless and precocious. But Kait died a few summers ago after contracting hepatitis of the liver.
Gambit, too, might have died prematurely. A benevolent donor whisked him out of his abusive home and into the DOC K9 program, where he was soon paired with Deputy Lewis.
The fundraiser concludes on Nov. 6.
In the meantime, click here if you'd like to purchase a T-Shirt ($30) or hoodie ($40). It's definitely for a worthy cause.