Iowa: US Air Force veteran, Delpha Barron, 86, donates to police K-9 program

IOWA -- A dog lover has donated money to get the Waterloo Police Department’s K-9
force back up to full staff.

Delpha Barron gifted $10,000 to the department’s dog team Thursday.

“She’s always had dogs. Her whole life, she’s had dogs. She grew up on a farm just north of
here. So this is something she’s wanted to do, and she’s talked about it often,” said Deb Borwig,
a longtime family friend.

Barron is a U.S. Air Force veteran who went to work for the Internal Revenue Service. Now 86,
she has been living at NorthCrest Specialty Care in Waterloo for about two years.
Members of the K-9 unit visited her at NorthCrest where she received a framed photo of the
team and o›cer trading cards.

The police department usually has four dogs, but one of the dogs, Robby, retired in April after
10 years on the job, said Sgt. Gus Farmer, the department’s K-9 trainer and Robby’s handler.

Barron’s donation will purchase a new dog to take Robby’s place, Farmer said. The department
will receive the dog in August, but the handler hasn’t been determined.

As part of the donation, Barron was allowed to name the new dog. She opted to name him
“Barron.”

“She originally wanted to name him ‘Cookie.’ But how threatening is that?” Borwig said.

Waterloo’s K-9 unit is funded entirely by donations, Farmer said. Large donations like Barron’s
pay for acquiring the dogs, and other donations cover food, veterinarian services and other
ongoing costs.

The police department dogs are trained for narcotics detention, tracking and building searches.

(The Courier - June 23, 2016)