JACKSONVILLE — K9s United, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting law enforcement K9 units with vital equipment and training, is in the final months of accepting preorders for its approved state of Florida K9s United specialty license plate. The organization, based in Jacksonville, is encouraging Florida drivers to preorder their K9s United license plates by Oct. 15 to meet the state requirement of 3,000 plates sold in order to be produced and offered statewide.

• K9s United, a Florida-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting K-9 law enforcement teams with vital training, lifesaving equipment and crucial legislation, is nearing the Oct. 15 deadline of pre-selling its specialty license plate to benefit canine crime fighters.
• With nearly half of the plates already pre-sold, Florida drivers and dog lovers can help reach their goal of 3,000 pre-orders in order for the plates to be produced statewide, and help the nonprofit potentially receive over $75,000 annually to help K9s United provide essential paws-on training workshops, resources, equipment and advocacy to law enforcement K-9s and their handlers.
• $25 from each tag sold will go directly to help K-9 teams who serve our communities throughout Florida. Florida drivers don’t need to be up for renewal to pre-order the tag and the vouchers don’t expire.

Why This Matters:
• Many law enforcement agencies don’t have adequate funding to provide their K-9 units with the necessary resources they need, including advanced training, equipment and kennels, vehicle heat alarms and door poppers, canine emergency kits and bulletproof vests, along with other larger health expenses.
• K9s United helps fill that void and aid law enforcement agencies to ensure the K-9 units have the programs and supplies the dogs need most.

“K9s United was born through a passion for our K9 officers who silently work so hard to protect and serve our communities,” said Debbie Johnson, K9s United Founder and President. “While they don’t have a voice to communicate their needs, we do, and we work hard to provide our canine officers and their handlers with training and equipment to stay safe in the field. By supporting our K9s United specialty license plate, you are not only advocating for our organization, you are also supporting our furry officers for years and years to come. The revenue generated from the plates will help take our mission to the next level to provide the programs and supplies these selfless dogs need to serve our communities.”

The unique plate design was created to honor two special K9 officers and was voted on by Florida residents and K9 supporters prior to release. Featured on the plate are two brave Florida K9 officers, including retired St. Johns County Sheriff’s Officer K9 Ryker that sadly passed in 2020, and retired Marion County Sheriff’s Officer K9 Drago that served the community for more than four years.

Additionally, K9s United actively advocates for legislation that protects and serves these selfless working dogs. The organization has successfully championed Florida legislation to create harsher penalties for criminals who intentionally harm a working K9, and allows injured K9s to be transported via emergency vehicles to the nearest emergency vet. K9s United is committed to supporting legislation on local, state and federal levels to protect K9 teams across the country.