BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont village has voted to eliminate the position of a K-9 officer for budgetary concerns.
The Bellows Falls Village Board of Trustees voted 3-2 Tuesday to lay off the 7-year-old Belgian Malinois named Caesar, the Brattleboro Reformer reported.
Trustee James McAuliffe said that the dog and his handler, Sgt. Mario Checchi, is too large of a commitment for a village of 3,000 people.
Acting Police Chief David Bemis argued that the department had raised money from the community to cover veterinarian care and food.
Trustee Jonathan Wright asked where those donations were on the village’s annual budget. Neither Bemis, Checchi or own Finance Director Shannon Burbela could locate records of the donations.
Municipal Manager Wendy Harrison later confirmed that over $10,000 had been donated for Caesar since 2014.
Village President Deborah Wright voted to retain Caesar and said that his termination would not save as much money as anticipated.
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