Manteca Police canine “Kato” joined a stream of customers Tuesday entering the Elite Arms gun shop on South Main Street – to receive a gifted ballistic vest for his protection.

Robert Davis said his wife Suzanne had the idea of donating the vest to the Manteca Police Association even before the family opened the doors. Officer Richard Smigelski had the only one of the five dogs in the department that didn’t have the luxury of a bullet proof vest.

“Get it done,” was her urging toward providing the life-saving protection for the dog.

The Davises said they felt fortunate to find that the department had a canine program and a two-year-old dog where they could offer an edge against the threat of bullets and knives in criminal hands.

The Davis couple are joined by Robert’s  brother Mark and Suzanne’s brother Tim Scheuer who also serves as a police officer in Auburn  and works in the gun shop part time.

The store has a complete range of Glock and Sig Sauer hand guns as well as shotguns for home security and is located at 1140 South Main Street just south of Industrial Park Drive. 

“Firearms are like golf clubs – you can’t just buy one and play Pebble Beach,” he said, stressing the need for range-time practice and not just taking the weapon home and putting it in a drawer.

“We’re trying to push the tremendous amount of fun so people can experience going to the range – not any different than golf in many ways,” he said. 

Davis noted that many women are hesitant about first firing a weapon, but quickly learn that target shooting can be enjoyable for them too.  He said his wife Suzanne soon became an accurate shot after being introduced to the range challenge.

Davis said he is recommending Tactical Firearms Training in Stockton that is operated by several police officers – Gray Ops Firearms Specialty Training, Inc.  They offer training in the use of handguns, carbines, shotguns and precision rifles.

In addition to Kato the other canine officers and their dogs on the force include: Jason Massey and “Max,” Bob Anderson and “Haas,” Eddie Cardenas and “Valcor,” Will Mueller and “Bear,” and Randy Chiek and his dog-in-training, “Dagger.”

The Manteca Police Department also offers gun training twice a year in May and September for a $35 fee.  The MPD course must be repeated annually by its citizen students.