Mission Statement
To support the Jonesborough Department of Public Safety’s K-9 program through fundraising and conducting educational programs related to police K-9’s.
Dial 911 for Emergencies
Contact
| Craig Ford | Public Safety Director | 423.753.1030 |
| General Contact | Police Department | 423.753.1053 |
During the fall of 2017, Jonesborough Police K9 Gregor was retired due to Degenerative Myelopathy. Due to this the town was left with a single purpose K9. In the spring of 2018, there was an incident in Jonesborough where a police K9 would have been valuable. During that incident there were no K9s having the skill needed available.
As a result of this occurrence, a citizen of Jonesborough organized a committee of citizens and key Jonesborough employees to discuss the possibility of raising funds to obtain additional K9s and the support of the K9s. The name “Paws in Blue” was chosen and they went to work developing plans to raise funds.
In December of 2018, Paws in Blue, Inc incorporated with the state of Tennessee and became Jonesborough Paws In Blue, Inc. In addition the application to the IRS for approval as a 501(c)3 organization has resulted in approval.
Every year “Paws in Blue” has the opportunity to raise money during the special events that the Town of Jonesborough hosts, by setting up booths. At these booths they provide educational information about the Police K9s, provide information related to a planned event and to raise funds by donations.
There is major K9 event that is held annually at the Jonesborough Middle School. This event is a K9 competition where the K9s compete in several categories. The categories are fastest dog, hardest bite, best recall and fastest article search. K9s around the area including Washington County Sheriff’s Department, Johnson City Police Department, and Erwin Police Department participate in the event. Dog related vendors and food trucks attend this event.
Our K9s:
PSO Arnold is trained as a decoy to assist with training the dogs in apprehension.
In December of 2018, Paws in Blue, Inc incorporated with the state of Tennessee and became Jonesborough Paws In Blue, Inc. In addition the application to the IRS for approval as a 501(c)3 organization has resulted in approval.
Jonesborough Paws In Blue, Inc plans to continue fundraising events during the Jonesborough Days and the National Storytelling Festivals. In addition, a second Paws In Blue regional K-9 competition is scheduled in June at the Jonesborough Middle School. Support for development of a K-9 training area to use to meet their certification requirements will be provided. Events will be conducted to allow residents of Jonesborough to meet the K-9s. Plans also include taking the dogs to area schools to provide information about police dogs and to expose students and faculty to police officers and their K-9s.
