Flagler County, FL – Less than 12 months after launching her campaign to purchase a new storage facility for Flagler County Sheriff’s K9 Unit, Palm Coast eighth-grader Emma Stanford stood proudly among unit members and Sheriff Rick Staly to cut the crime scene ribbon, in true law enforcement style on February 1, 2022.
Where It All Began
Emma’s love of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit dates back several years when she decided to set a goal of becoming the agency’s first female K9 officer after meeting then sergeant, now Commander Jon Welker and his K9 partner Jax.
As part of a Gold Star family, the Stanfords had started a search for a German Shepherd of their own and connected with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to learn more about the dogs. The connection between Emma and the K9 unit was instant and a bond was formed.
Seeking to learn more about the specialized unit, her excitement and interest in K9 units evolved into a campaign of fundraising support after connecting with a California K9 named Bentley and his handler, Officer Paul Puente from the San Gabriel Police Department.
Determined to make an impact and help the K9 handlers and their dogs, with the blessing of Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly, Emma launched Emma Loves K9s.
Growing from a set of “plushies”, stuffed animals modeled after the FCSO unit’s K9s, Emma has expanded the reach, supporting agencies in 14 states across America, delivering more than 1,000 of the signature plushies to homes across the globe since 2019.
Garnering Support While Taking the Lead
Watching her daughter take the lead on the national project as a 501c3 nonprofit organization while continuing her direct support and involvement with the FCSO K9 unit, Carmen Stanford beamed with pride over Emma’s dedication during the ribbon cutting.
“I’m just encouraging her from behind, helping with anything she may need directions with. She’s really driving this, said Carmen, supportively.
“I’m impressed by how humble she is about all this.”
It’s that humility and dedication that attracted major donors like Security First Insurance, Danielle DeSousa at Homebridge Financial Services, and Jamie Bourdeau from Beachfront Grille to help Emma reach her goal of $5,000 for the storage unit in less than 7 months.
Emma’s father Tim Stanford says at least one major donor has already pledged their support for next year.
“They are very supportive of Emma,” he said. “It seems like in this day and age when a lot of compassion has been lost, it’s good to see the compassion for the dogs.”
Delivering On A Promise
Over the years Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly has encouraged members of his agency to cultivate relationships within the community, especially with the youth. He’s enjoyed seeing the projects brought forward by Emma and her creativity to support the K9 unit.
“This is an exciting day for the sheriff’s office, our community and our K9 unit. Emma and her family have been such staunch supporters of the Sheriff’s K9, this has just taken it to the next level,” said Sheriff Staly. “They have done so much to support the team and we really appreciate that and thank them for their support.”
One of the unit’s best known handlers and supervisor of the K9 unit, Corporal Rob Tarczewski, established a working relationship with the Stanford family early on, and is appreciative of their continued support.
“Having community support in general is always great but Emma has found it special in her heart to take care of us and the unit and facilitate any needs that we have that come up,” he said.
“Recently we’ve lost one of our deteriorated sheds which stored all of our equipment for the dogs, so she took it upon herself to raise the funds through the sale of plushies and fundraising in general to save up enough to replace the shed that we lost.”
Now that Emma has met this goal, she’ll continue to fundraise for the unit, a team she hopes to one day join, to help with specific needs like the upcoming replacement of two ballistic vests for the K9s.
As for the handlers, they already consider Emma one of their own.
“She already knows all of us and how we operate so if that’s the career path she chooses, of course she’d be welcomed,” said Tarczewski. “She’s growing up and getting closer and closer to that, so we’ll see.”
Over the years, it’s been a community effort touching hearts across Flagler County that all started out with the ability of Emma Stanford to see the possibilities and Flagler’s Sheriff to support her vision.
“A very special thank you goes out to Sheriff Staly because had he not approved the plushies, we would not be here,” said Emma’s mom Carmen.  “He’s very community oriented and supportive of the children, building that bridge between the community, young children and law enforcement.”
As for Emma, it’s been an eye opening experience to see the generosity of people in the community.
“We raised over $5,000 and got it accomplished by other businesses donating and plushie sales,” she said. “I’m a little surprised because I didn’t realize that many people would donate and help out, but I know a lot of people love the K9s.”
To find out more, visit https://www.emmalovesk9s.com/.
