Waterloo woman donates money to Winneshiek County Sheriff's Department for new

Members of the Winneshiek County Sheriff's Department traveled to Waterloo Tuesday to thank 89-year-old Betty Mc Coy for donating money to replace the department's K9 Cop, Ricky, who died over the weekend.

Betty, who is 89 years-old and is battling stage four cancer, has no ties to Winneshiek County and the donation was unsolicited.  A dog lover and supporter of law enforcement, Betty read about the loss of Ricky in the Waterloo Courier and decided she wanted to provide the funds to replace the K9 unit.

Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx explains, "Betty's daughter, Kathy, contacted me and told me her mom wanted to help.  She asked what it would take to get anotherK9 program up and running, which can be $15,000-$20,000.  When I told Kathy the costs, she said her mom would have her donation in the mail.  Needless to say, I was shocked and speechless."
 
On Tuesday several members of the Winneshiek County Sheriff's Office, including K9 handler Deputy Steve Nesvik and his wife, Amanda, took a caravan of squad cars to Betty's home to meet her and her family.  The police visited with Betty for over an hour, and even gave her a tour of the K9 squad car.

"People like Betty remind me of how blessed we are to serve in northeast Iowa. We are truly among amazingly good and caring people, who support law enforcement," says Sheriff Marx.  The new K9 service dog will be named in honor of the McCoy family.

In addition to Betty's donation,the Winneshiek County American Legion is also planning a variety of fundraisers to ensure there are funds to cover the ongoing costs of the Sheriff's Department's K9program.