DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said it received an unexpected gift this week after a Daytona Beach woman who died last year left behind a big chunk of change for its K9 unit.
“This is just something that doesn’t happen,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.
Chitwood said he’s still shocked by the act of kindness.
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Longtime Daytona Beach resident Pamela Mobbs, who died last October, left $32,856.32 to the office’s K9 unit in her estate.
“I got an email from legal counsel basically saying, ‘Hey, this installment has come to us and here’s the story behind it,’ and I’m like holy cow. This is amazing,” Chitwood said.
He said he never had the chance to meet Mobbs but learned her story through her family. He found out Mobbs had a German shepherd as a child and grew to love the dogs.
Then, Mobbs got to watch a demonstration of law enforcement in action with the K9s a few years ago, and she vowed to help protect them.
“She decided that one of her last acts in her last will and testament would be to leave money to the sheriff’s office,” Chitwood said.
Chitwood said Mobbs wanted the money to help with training or attaining new dogs, but her top concern was getting them bulletproof vests.
The gift comes in following two Volusia K9s, Ax and Endo, being shot and injured in the line of duty back in September. They recovered, but the office made the decision to retire Endo, who had already been shot once before.
Chitwood said Mobbs’ donation will help them train their K9s, buy bulletproof vests for them and maybe soon get another dog.
“Her gift is not only about the protection and training and selection of K9s, it’s about protecting her community and how much she loved both,” Chitwood said.