Reed Farr, 10, of Turtle Township, holds up one of the Vest-A-Dog pamphlets he uses to explain the organization to donors as he raises funds to buy a bulletproof vest for a police dog.

TURTLE TOWNSHIP — Janesville resident Donna Morgan loves animals so much that she started a nonprofit organization aimed at saving police dogs’ lives.

Now, she has an enthusiastic partner in a 10-year-old town of Turtle boy.

“I have definitely found my match in him,” Morgan said.

Morgan’s organization, Vest-A-Dog of Wisconsin, raises money to purchase bullet- and stab-proof vests for police dogs in K-9 units.

Morgan always has been an animal lover.

“I grew up on a farm, so I’m a big animal girl,” she said.

While watching television one night, Morgan saw an episode of “America’s Most Wanted,” which showed footage of a police dog being shot by an armed suspect.

“You could hear that dog take that bullet,” she recalled. “It was awful.”

Long after the show was over, Morgan was affected by the footage she had seen of the K-9 giving up its life in the line of duty.

“I couldn’t sleep, and I just decided something had to be done,” she said. “I, like most people, didn’t realize (K-9 police dogs) don’t have vests.”

According to Morgan’s Vest-A-Dog of Wisconsin Web site, some 166 of the state’s police dogs still are in need of protective vests.

So far, Morgan has vested about 20 dogs through Vest-A-Dog of Wisconsin, and this week, another dog will receive a vest, thanks to the determination of fifth-grader Reed Farr.

“I was at the Cheese Days festival in Monroe to raise money for my organization. Reed and his mom and dad were there to enjoy the festival, and stopped at my table and talked to me,” Morgan said. “Reed told me that he has a love for animals, and asked me if it would be OK if he raised enough money for a whole vest. I told him, ‘That would be great!’ and didn’t think much about it after that.

“That night I got an e-mail from Reed's father, telling me that Reed had already started going door-to-door as soon as they got home that night.”

Farr’s parents are not surprised by their son’s ambition.

“Honestly, it didn’t surprise me or his dad that he wanted to do that,” said Mandie Farr, Reed’s mother. “You know, he’s 10, but we knew he’d be bound and determined. He started that very day, and has been going ever since.”

Each vest costs $840; by mid-December, Farr had just $113 left to go. His goal is to raise the entire sum by Sunday, when he is scheduled to meet the dog and department that will receive the vest bought with his funds.

Farr has always had a fondness for German shepherds, the breed most commonly trained as K-9 officers; he even did a book report on police dogs in school. He also has an affinity for working his salesman schtick.

“I like German shepherds,” Farr said, “And I love to sell.”

When he started his fundraising drive back in September, Farr was armed with little more than passion and his own two feet. He went from house to house in his neighborhood, knocking on doors and asking for donations from anyone who would listen.

“Well, I wasn’t really prepared — I just had one brochure,” he said, the one he’d picked up at Morgan’s booth at Cheese Days, and a coffee can decorated with pictures of K-9 officers. People he encountered told him, “You need more details.”

Morgan sent Farr more brochures, and provided the address for Vest-A-Dog, so people could mail their donations directly. Farr’s grandmother in Missouri also got involved, sending Farr handmade angel ornaments, which he gives to everyone who donates.

Farr said his average donation is between $5 and $10, though he did get a $100 donation from a kennel club in Pennsylvania, of which his aunt is a member.

Though he has almost reached his goal, there were times when the arduous process of pounding the pavement and asking for money got discouraging.

“I did get my feelings hurt a few times,” Farr admits.

However, those who know him recognize his determination.

“I know Reed will keep going, even if it takes years to raise enough money,” Morgan said.

Now that Farr is so close to his goal, he was able to choose a dog to receive the vest his funds will purchase. His vest will go to a dog named Anuk, of the Waushara County Sheriff’s Department, as the Beloit Police Department’s K-9 officer already has a vest.

“In this area, it’s pretty good — the dogs in Beloit have vests already,” said George Farr, Reed’s father. Reed selected Anuk because the dog had been waiting a year for a vest.

“Reed didn’t want K-9 Anuk to wait any longer,” Morgan said.

Even though Farr has taken care of one dog, Anuk, he is nowhere near finished with finding vests for Wisconsin’s K-9 officers.

“I’m going to wait until spring to start another one, to save for another dog,” he said.