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October 26, 2009

Local woman’s donations will help county, OHP get K-9 dogs

By Cass Rains, Staff Writer

Garfield County, meet GeGe.

This 18-month-old Belgian Malinois is the newest member of the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office and is made possible by the generosity of Enidite Anne Ott and her late husband Gilbert Edward Ott.

Ott was able to meet the new K-9 Monday at the sheriff’s office, where she was presented with a certificate and letter of thanks from Sheriff Bill Winchester and GeGe’s handler Deputy Jon Marshall.

Ott said she and her husband watched the Kennel Club Show on television where the rescue and police dogs used after the Sept. 11 attacks were honored and it inspired her gift.

“They brought in all these dogs that worked the aftermath of 9/11,” Ott said. “And boy, they outshined all those beautiful dogs that were there.”

After meeting GeGe, Ott made an admission to the irony of her gift to the sheriff’s office.

“I’m scared to death of dogs,” she said with a chuckle.

Ott said she was happy to the meet this dog.

“Oh, she’s feisty,” Ott said.

Her nephew Lt. David Ott of Oklahoma Highway Patrol and great-nephew Waukomis Police Chief Phil Ott also were at the meeting.

Ott also has donated money for Oklahoma Highway Patrol to purchase a dog, to be named Gib, which was her husband’s nickname. The patrol’s dog will be assigned to the OHP bomb squad and will work across the state.

Winchester said without Ott’s donation, the department would not have been able to purchase GeGe.

“I think the generosity of it is very great,” Winchester said of Ott’s donation. “We’re not able to do this without her donation.”

Marshall, who is GeGe’s handler, said Ott’s donation also covered the expense of some specialized equipment to be used by the K-9 unit.

He said GeGe should be certified through the state by the end of the month and will be used as a dual purpose K-9 for narcotics searches and police patrol.

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