AUBURN – Auburn police dogs are now fully vested in their careers.

Beny, a 3-year-old German shepherd who has been with the Auburn Police Department for 18 months, was presented with his Kevlar vest Tuesday evening by Sally Davis, mother of Maine Vest-a-Dog’s founder, Kelly Davis.

A vest had already been given to Inka, a 4-year-old German shepherd who’s been with the department for two years.

Davis, of West Bath, a student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, began raising funds for the vests in 2000 as part of a community project for her elementary school.

A law that prohibited anyone from raising money for law enforcement halted Davis’ efforts, so she helped push through an amendment that gave third-party nonprofit organizations permission to raise funds for the benefit of law enforcement.

Maine Vest-a-Dog’s goal is to put vests on all police dogs in the state. To date, it has raised $54,000 and presented vests to 64 dogs.

“We think it’s very exciting,” Deputy Chief Jason Moen said. “The vests that Maine Vest-a-Dog donated have been a huge boost for us and equipped the dog properly.”

At $850 each, the vests are more expensive than the ones worn by their handlers. They are not only bulletproof, but stabproof as well. Often times the police dogs are in situations where injury cannot be avoided, so the vests are also able to withstand blunt trauma, keeping the dog on all fours.

“They cover the whole back side of his torso and there’s a piece that covers his chest,” said Cpl. Kristopher Bouchard, Beny’s handler.

Typically, the dogs have careers lasting six or seven years, and retire to live with their handlers. The vests are a way to increase the dog’s effectiveness on the job as well as their chances of retiring in good shape.