Pennies
for Protection...
Seven police dogs
in Maryland and Pennsylvania have new bulletproof vests,
thanks to an 11-year-old California girl. Alyssa Mayorga
buys the vests with pennies she collects. Each vest costs
$400. (Quick, how many pennies does she need to buy one
vest?)

(Det. Joe Hawk & K9
Ben of Hurlock Police Department, MD trained at Tarheel
Canine Training.)
Alyssa, known as
the Penny Princess, has been giving dogs vests since
2004, when she heard about a police dog that had died
on the job. So far, she has bought 29 vests.On Saturday
she was in Hurlock, Maryland, giving vests to police
there and in Pennsylvania. Hurlock's Krystyna Novak,
12, asked Alyssa for help in getting a vest for Ben,
the town's new police dog. North Dorchester Middle School
raised $600 for the cause. Want to help Alyssa do more?
Go to http://www.protect-a-dog.com .
She needs 40,000 pennies to buy each vest.
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