PARMA, Ohio -- Brady’s K9 Fund recently donated a new body armor ballistic protection vest to the Parma Police Department for police K9 Beny.

While the donation is just one of nearly 80 the organization has made in the last 18 months, what makes this story unique is the fact that the person behind it is 9-year-old Brady Snakovsky.

Sure, the Strongsville third-grader, who attends Whitney Elementary School, enjoys baseball and amusement parks; however, the kind-hearted youth has turned his love of animals and police officers into quite an operation, raising more than $91,000.

“Brady got involved after watching ‘Live PD’ and noticing that a police K9 didn’t have a vest,” said his mother, Leah Tornabene. “At that point, we started a GoFundMe page to raise enough money to donate for one vest.

“It kind of blew up from there. We actually raised enough for four vests, which we donated to Ohio State Highway Patrol K9s.”

Added Brady, “I didn’t know that I would be able to get so many vests to donate to police K9s.”

Brady's K9 Fund boasts the simple mission that police dogs deserve the same protection as human police officers.

“Brady has a big heart. He’s always looking out for others and is very caring,” Tornabene said. “He loves animals and loves police -- the two kind of mix together. So, it’s no surprise.”

What is often a surprise is how many police departments initially aren’t interested in K9 body armor. Tornabene said the old-school vests are heavy, cumbersome and limit a dog’s ability to do its job.

Armed with this knowledge, Brady and his mother decided to donate the LOF Defence StreetFighter vest, which is lighter, allows freedom of movement and doesn’t overheat the K9.

“We’ve had to educate police departments on the type of vests we donate,” Tornabene said. “After donating so many vests, we have a lot of officers now reaching out to us.”

Said Brady, “I’m just happy to be able to give out the vests.”

As for the Parma Police Department donation, K9 Beny’s handler, police officer Bryan Bernow, commended Brady for being a respectable young gentleman.

“It’s amazing that a kid his age took an interest in police dogs and has now outfitted 78 police K9s with ballistics vests across the nation,” Bernow said. “We as K9 handlers send our partners in first -- before any other officers -- into potentially dangerous situations.

"These dogs become our best friends. We spend so many hours with them between training, going on calls or just driving in our vehicles.

“Sometimes we talk to them more than any other person in a day. Brady at his young age understands that, and by raising the money to get so many police K9s ballistic vests, he has helped to ensure my partner and so many others come home at night to their families, and be able to return to work the next day to fulfill our duty as police officers," Bernow said.

Read more news from the Parma Sun Post here.