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Look at this tiny police puppy wearing the vest he’ll grow into

Tuco's ready to protect and serve, but he has to fill out his harness first.

 

Greg Seals

Internet Culture

Posted on Oct 28, 2014   Updated on May 30, 2021, 7:54 am CDT

For over 14 years, Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog has been equipping the K-9s who protect and serve alongside law enforcement with potentially lifesaving bulletproof vests.

Police departments can often only fund vests for human officers, the organization explains on its Facebook page. That protection doesn’t come cheap. To raise the $1,006 to $2,400 needed to purchase a single vest, the nonprofit utilizes its best asset, cuteness.

On Sunday, the organization announced the release of its 2015 calendar on Facebook with an image of the adorable then 9-week-old Tuco. The German Shepherd pup, named after the Breaking Bad drug dealer Tuco Salamanca, took time out of his adorable schedule to model one of the K-9 Batman vests.

 

 

 

The adorableness that was a young Tuco posing in what could be his uniform one day proved too much for Facebook to contain, and soon the post went viral racking up close to 2,000 shares. Animal lovers were so enamored they begged for a photo of a grown up Tuco and the folks over at Massachusetts-Vest-a-Dog were happy to oblige.

 

 

While it’s only been six months, he’s filled out his vest quite a bit—and under the tutelage of Boston Police Department dog handler Troy Caisey, he’s began a training routine that could lead to him serving alongside law enforcement one day. From the looks of things, it doesn’t seem like Tuco will be playing dress-up much longer.

H/T BuzzFeed | Photo via mavestadog/Facebook 

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*First Published: Oct 28, 2014, 5:50 pm CDT