The National Police Dog Foundation has announced its second round of K-9 heat alarm grants.

The Foundation's K-9 Heat Alarm Fund came about when an article in the organization's April 2017 newsletter about K-9 heroes who fell during active duty in 2016 sparked an overwhelming response from readers and supporters. Members of the National Police Dog Foundation as well as its readers were shocked to learn the number of K-9s that had died from heat exhaustion in patrol cars. The Foundation decided to take immediate action and help by providing grants for heat alarms.

In 2017 the National Police Dog Foundation awarded heat alarms to five law enforcement agencies.

In 2018, thanks to a matching donation from Spirit of Blue, the K-9 Heat Alarm Fund will fund 12 Heat Alarm Grants (that's more than twice the number granted last year) to law enforcement agencies with the hope of bringing awareness to the issue. "We hope that one day every K-9 patrol car will be outfitted with these K-9 life-saving devices," says the National Police Dog Foundation.

How will the heat alarms help? When temperatures get too hot in the vehicle the Heat Alarms can automatically:

• activate the patrol car's siren and light bar

• roll down the back windows

• notify the handler on a beeper or on their cell phone

Additionally, alarms come with dual sensors to average the heat in the vehicle, and come with hot and cold alerts. Alarms can even be coupled with automatic door openers for a quick release of the K-9.

The National Police Dog Foundation welcomes and encourages grant applications from all law enforcement agencies in the United States.

Grant application deadline is July 27th, 2018. No applications will be accepted after this date. The 12 K-9 Heat Alarm Grants will be awarded at the beginning of August 2018.

The grant winners will be announced in the National Police Dog Foundation's August 2018 newsletter and posted in the news section on the organization's website.

To apply for a grant, visit https://nationalpolicedogfoundation.org/k9-heat-alarm-application-2018/.

To donate to the National Police Dog Foundation K-9 Heat Alarm Fund, visit https://nationalpolicedogfoundation.org/funds/k-9-heat-alarm-fund/.