GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – It’s all coming full circle for the Bark N’ Blue Foundation in Green Bay.
They donated the emergency first aid kit to the Green Bay Police Department that helped save K9 officer Pyro’s life Sunday night after he was stabbed multiple times.
Now, they want to take care of the medical expenses and raise money for more life-saving kits.
“There’s enough worry and stress going on with this situation,” explains Heather Heil, Founder of the Bark N’ Blue Foundation. “We want to make sure that we can take care of those things.”
The Green Bay Police Department and the greater community as a whole has been sitting on pins and needles for more than twenty-four hours closely monitoring the progress of Pyro.
The resilient pup has been through a tumultuous couple of days as he looks to pull through and recover after suffering multiple stab wounds Sunday night in the process of helping make an arrest.
His diagnosis was less than optimistic originally and officers remarked that they thought he would have a less than fifty percent chance of surviving the ordeal.
Pyro was quickly taken in for surgery Monday morning, which was successful and reports following that operation have been generally positive.
Since then, the department has reported that he is already standing, sitting, and walking under his own power.
There are still concerns for Pyro as the situation is “day-by-day,” but another concern to the entire operation is something that a local foundation has taken upon themselves to spearhead.
The financial ramifications of Pyro’s surgery and general medical costs started to mount quickly and as of Monday afternoon, the bill already tallied around $25,000.
That number is post-surgery, but it’s a fluid situation that can change by the hour.
“He’s still in critical condition and still in care,” says Heil. “There are still things that we don’t know and they’re just going to continue to grow.”
The Green Bay Police Department commented at a press conference on Monday that they don’t have the budgetary funds allocated for this expenditure and the public has been welcomed to provide monetary donations towards the cause.
The Bark N’ Blue Foundation is working to help organize the fundraising effort and bring everyone together for the cause.
On Thursday, April 11, they are hosting a “Team Pyro Fundraiser” at Bark & Brew in Suamico from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
There is a suggested $5 donation at the door and raffles will be taking place throughout the event.
Additional donations will be accepted at the fundraiser. while those incapable of attending the event can still help out by sending monetary donations to Nicolet National Bank care of The Bark N Blue Foundation/Team Pyro.
Also, a newly launched website will make it easy to donate.
“The easiest way is to go to barknblue.org, there is a paypal account you can click,” she explains. “Funds get transfered into our account right from there.”
$30,000 has already been raised for the effort and with the lightning quick response from the community, they have now increased their goal to $50,000.
“We know that the community also cares that Pyro is being taken care of,” she says. “And at the end of the day, Pyro getting better is what we’re all focused on.”
Heil says any excess money that is donated beyond that amount will go towards purchasing emergency first aid kits that they will continue to donate to the Green Bay Police Department.
“All seven of those cars should have those kits,” says Heil. “Those kits go to the tune of three hundred dollars, we will use that money to get those kits in the cars.”
A kit they had priorly given to the Green Bay Police Department was utilized by officers on Sunday night and proved to be instrumental in saving the life of Pyro.
