Dog treats made by Aloha students available at Washington County K9 Trials

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV) – The 17th annual Washington County K9 Trials will be held this Saturday. Along with the free competition will be a community fair where you can pick up some free doggie treats made by a group of local kids.

Sergeant Eamon O’Reilly is with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. He’s a patrol supervisor and along with his K9 partner Radar is part of the Tactical Negotiations team, where most interactions with the public are far from easy.

“We do help people, but we interact with people on their worst day,” Sgt. O’Reilly said.

But the law enforcement duo is probably best known for their Instagram page “Deputy Dog Radar,” where the two share treats, both for humans and for dogs.

They have a worldwide following, including Aloha High School’s Structure Routine Center. So instructors invited the pair to come visit their class and sample their homemade treats called “Doggie Dots.”

“It was just really neat to me to see the passion the kids had for making the dog treats and how much fun they had sharing with me,” Sgt. O’Reilly said.

Rourke Lowe teaches the class of about 11 special education students.

“My job is to work on all of the academic basics but we also do things like life skills and community living and out of those class periods became an idea for dog treats,” Lowe said.

For about a year now, the kids take three simple ingredients for each batch. They make their own oat flour and peanut butter, then add either banana or pumpkin. They shape them, bake them, then package and sell them – mostly to school staff.

It’s not a money-making business, but the program needs money to continue and to start other programs that give the students opportunities to learn and be included.

“That if we give them those skills and give them those opportunities here and we’re able to work on them and fine tune them that might be a better step or a good next step for them outside,” Lowe said.

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The program really spoke to Sgt. O’Reilly who posted about the treats on Instagram and put a link to the Beaverton Education Foundation fundraising campaign in his bio. He says he loves being a part of helping these students be successful.

“I just thought, I have this opportunity to help them and the people who are fans of Radar are wonderful people,” he said. “They have shown generosity in the past and I thought they will also love this idea.”

And his fans do love it. The fundraiser has more than doubled its original goal so the class can not only continue to make the doggie treats but they also plan to buy and operate a coffee cart.

If you would like to donate, click here.

The instructor Mr. Lowe will be at the K9 Trials at the Hillsboro Stadium on Saturday with 100 bags of Doggie Dots to give away for free, along with recipe cards. Sgt. O’Reilly and K9 Radar will also be there.

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