Dec 10, 2016 3 min read

Santa Claus spread plenty of holiday cheer to kids of all ages Wednesday evening at the Washington Lions Club’s annual Christmas party.

But the star of the show turned out to be Obie, the 2-year-old black Labrador retriever and the only working K-9 officer in Washington County trained to detect explosives.

And Santa didn’t forget Obie, giving him a bulletproof vest, courtesy of the Washington Lions Club.

The vest cost $1,100, but, according to Bill Baxendell of the Lions Club, that’s a small price to pay to save a life.

Washington County sheriff’s Deputy Kristie Salzman, who is Obie’s handler, couldn’t be happier.

“Obie is one of us. He’s part of the family,” Salzman said. “He deserves the same attention we get, and they made it happen. They took the initiative.

“He does everything he can to protect us. Obie will get a lot of use out of it.”

Police departments in Washington and surrounding counties rely on Obie, who also is trained in tracking and narcotics detection. Salzman said she won’t have to worry as much anymore about Obie, now that he has protection.

“Calls would stress me out,” she said.

Obie joined the sheriff’s department in August, and has been quite busy since his arrival. He’s made his rounds to area schools so youngsters could meet him, but, more importantly, he’s cleared bomb threats, and he’s searched for suspects and a missing person.

“He’s had eight call-outs. There is no hesitation with that dog,” Salzman said. “He just does the job. You can’t ask for anymore than that.”

Salzman and her partner are usually with each other all day, every day – although she quickly noted that she’s not complaining.

“If he’s not there with me, everybody asks, ‘Where’s Obie?’ Just his presence brightens people’s day,” she said.

Salzman has been a law enforcement officer for 23 years, and Obie is “by far the best assignment I’ve ever had.”

Ralph Fisher, charity chairman of the Lions Club, said it was Baxendell’s idea to purchase the vest for Obie after the club received a letter requesting a $25 donation.

“Bill’s got a big heart,” Fisher said.

When Baxendell made the motion to purchase the vest, it quickly was quickly passed by members, who support a variety of charitable causes throughout the county.

“I don’t know any of these people,” Salzman said, referring to member of the Lions Club, “but to know they reached out to do the right thing by him, it’s overwhelming.”