Ryan and Julia Adkins, owners of Buchanan Self Storage in Buchanan, Va., recently donated a Garmin GPS collar as well as a handheld GPS device to the K-9 unit at the Botetourt Sheriff Department in Fincastle, Va. K-9 unit officers Deputy C.L. Noakes and Sgt. J.C. Clatterbaugh accepted the collar on behalf of the department.

The GPS enables officers to download a map and other information to a computer any time a dog wearing the collar is following a suspect. The information can then be used as evidence, the source reported. It can also be used as a training tool or to help in search and rescue missions, the source reported.

The collar will help keep the dogs safer, Clatterbaugh told the source. "We are often out in areas with the dog that do not have easy technology,” he said. “This device will be very helpful, and also help us as responders be aware of exactly where the dog is going and when he catches up to an individual, whether that is a few hundred feet or a mile. It will help us in the safety factor, certainly."

The handheld device also records the path the dog takes, which will come in handy in rural areas and national forest as well as in the more populated areas, Ryan Adkins told the source. His family made the donation to give back to the community, he said.

Buchanan Self Storage offers ground-level units with 24-hour access. Amenities include online billpay capabilities and video cameras.

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