Cars, pets and police find their way to Strawberry Days
Konrad Chen and Havoc demonstrate their skills for the crowd.
An aerial shot of last week’s car show at Pleasant Grove’s Downtown Park.
K9 Officer Havoc did demonstrations for the crowd at the Car Show.
Pet owners and pets participate in the pet parade.
Car owner Ken DeMarco enjoying looking at cars at the car show.
A pet parade, car show, food trucks, silent auction, live music and K-9 demonstrations kicked off Strawberry Days over the weekend in Pleasant Grove’s Downtown Park. Organized by the Pleasant Grove Police Department’s Honorary Colonels, the event raised money for the department.
Pet owners paid a $1 donation to enter their pets into the pet parade and contests, including cutest pet, ugliest pet, best trick, most exotic, most unusual, biggest pet, smallest pet and best costume. More than 100 pets participated. All donations will go to help pay for expenses for the department’s K-9, Havoc.
Police Chief Mike Smith said that the K-9 program is a huge boost to the level of service they are able to provide to the citizens of Pleasant Grove.
“From criminal tracking and apprehension to narcotics detection, K-9s provide us with invaluable levels of capabilities,” he said.
But, with that higher level of service comes a cost, which is difficult to find in the department’s limited budget. Smith said that setting up a patrol vehicle for a K-9 unit costs several thousand dollars more than a regular patrol car.
With all of the training the K-9 goes through, injuries occur. Havoc has had to see the veterinarian several times this past year with damage to his teeth. In addition to regular dog maintenance equipment, Havoc requires specialized equipment to aid in his constant training as well as equipment to keep him safe.
“Havoc works hard for our community and we want to be able to provide him with the care and maintenance he deserves,” Smith said.
The car show, which featured approximately 90 vehicles, drew a crowd to the park and with sponsor fees, silent auction and raffle ticket sales, money was raised for much-needed police equipment.
Proceeds from the event will help fund a response trailer that will have multiple purposes, including a mobile command center, emergency response staging area and a large incident and crime scene resource. The department was able to secure some grant money to get them started on the trailer. The Honorary Colonels have pledged their assistance with the trailer as well, according to Smith.
The response trailer will also be utilized as a mobile investigation resource in the department’s commitment to Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said Smith. The task force is hosted by the Utah Attorney General’s Office and the Pleasant Grove Police Department is appointed the North Utah County affiliate for these types of investigations.
“We are passionate about the necessity of providing protection to our children from the multitude of predators who use the internet to victimize them in unspeakable ways and this trailer will assist us in that,” Smith said.
The event in the park was the first of many during Strawberry Days. The celebration continues through Sunday.