Tarentum declines police dog gifted by singer Brian Kelley

Tarentum will have to wait for a police dog.

Borough officials declined a surprise gift from country music star Brian Kelley of a police dog during an August benefit concert.

Kelley donated an 18-month-old German shepherd, Ikon, during an Aug. 9 concert in West Deer that doubled as a fundraiser to help pay for a police dog for Tarentum’s force.

“It was collectively decided that a younger dog would be a better fit for our department, ensuring a strong and lasting partnership with the assigned officer,” Borough Manager Dwight Boddorf said.

And the borough received no proceeds from the concert.

There was no contract that guaranteed proceeds or a specific amount to cover the cost of a police dog, he said.

As it turns out, the concert was a loss all around.

The event was put on by No Offseason Sports of West Deer, Alabama-based 423 Productions and Harrison teen Kaley Bastine, whose charity, Kaley’s Kops, helps raise money for emergency responders in the Alle-Kiski Valley.

Chase Bass from 423 Productions and Joe Voloch of No Offseason Sports both said they took a significant loss on the concert.

“We don’t get into financials, but I’ll say it was a five-figure loss,” Bass said.

Related

• Country star surprises Harrison girl who raised funds for police dog, buys the K-9 for Tarentum himself
• Former Florida Georgia Line singer's gig boosts Tarentum police K-9 fund
• Brian Kelley concert, organized by Harrison girl, to help Tarentum police establish K-9 unit

The concert didn’t draw the numbers originally thought, Voloch said. About 200 tickets were sold at $25 each. The venue gave away 1,000 free tickets to bump up attendance, he said.

“It sounded great, but it didn’t work out as we hoped,” Voloch said. “There are still costs to put on a concert. You still have to have sound and lighting and pay all of the employees.”

Multiple calls to Jamie Bastine, Kaley’s mom, were not returned.

Kelley, former frontman for the Florida Georgia Line, was expected to draw a capacity crowd of up to 5,300 people to the venue. Bass pointed to the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler as one reason for the low attendance, saying “people’s attention was elsewhere.”

Jensen Sussman, Kelley’s publicist, said: “Brian is always wanting to pay it forward and when Kaley’s mom reached out to him directly, he wanted to help and support the local community in any way possible.”

Despite the disappointment over ticket sales, Bass said there was a collective happiness when Kelley surprised everyone with the dog.

“The entire concept was to raise money for them to get a police dog,” Bass said. “Brian dug deep into his heart and his pocket and got them the dog.

“When that dog got brought on stage, everyone felt like we accomplished the goal. We lost money, but we still got them the K-9, and that was a sigh of relief.”

To see the dog turned away was a bit deflating, Bass said.

The borough never took ownership of the dog. It was sent with Kelley’s team, where it will be boarded and trained for a future home with another department, they said.

Boddorf said the borough was explicit with Kelley’s team that it was seeking money to pay for a dog that could be carefully paired with a borough officer.

“The borough specifically informed Mr. Kelley’s team in writing before the event that we did not want a dog provided,” Boddorf said.

The cost of a police dog can range from $15,000 to $45,000, and specialized monthslong training is another $10,000. Equipped vehicles cost at least $80,000.

Instead, Tarentum gets state grant

On Thursday, the borough got word that it would receive an $83,000 state grant to cover initial expenses to equip a vehicle for a dog.

State Rep. Mandy Steele, D-Fox Chapel, helped to secure the money.

“I am a firm believer that supporting our police is one of the most effective things we can do to build strong communities,” Steele said.

Tarentum police Chief Bill Vakulick said he is grateful for the community’s support.

“The plan was always to secure grant funding for the unit, but, unfortunately, this fundraiser did not cover the costs,” he said. “We will continue to seek grant funding to make the K-9 unit a reality.”

He is hopeful a police dog unit could be active within the next year.