West Haven Woman Helps Donate Ballistic Vest To K-9 Jax, Others

WEST HAVEN, CT — A West Haven woman has taken her appreciation of K-9s and support of police to create a non-profit organization that helps provide ballistic vests and other equipment to K-9 units in local police departments.

Brittany Murphy, 28, founded Blue Line Jars in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic at a time when she said that police weren’t being appreciated at the start of the “Defund the Police” movement.

Murphy said that she realized in 2019 that she wanted to work with police dogs, but quickly found out that it would be difficult as a civilian.

“I'd always see my local K-9 unit around town but was always unsure how to approach,” she said.

After launching Blue Line Jars, Murphy said she began handing out mason jars filled with candy to local law enforcement officers to “show them that there were still people that appreciated them and cared about them.”

Murphy eventually branched out to K-9 Unit support, and in 2021 she reached her goal of vesting her first K-9 for her 26th birthday.

Murphy recently assisted the Brady’s K-9 Fund organization with donating a ballistic vest to West Haven Police K-9 Jax. Murphy said Blue Line Jars raised about $1,200 to sponsor a vest through Brady’s K-9 Fund.

The vest was the third sponsored by Blue Line Jars, but Murphy said that as a lifetime West Haven resident, being able to donate the vest to K-9 Jax truly meant a lot to her.

Murphy said that she usually has a “special dog” in mind that she wants to vest and will contact Brady’s K-9, which then sends out the information to the handler.

Each vest is custom-fitted to each dog, so the handler sends in measurements and what color that want for the vest, etc., according to Murphy. The vests are made by LOF Defence in Canada and are then shipped out to the handler in about 90 days, Murphy said.

Murphy said the first K-9 she vested was K-9 Magnus in Portland.

“I personally got to bring his vest to him,” she said. “We had a nice meet up that day.”

Her second was MTA K-9 McKenna, who was named after late North Haven resident James McKenna.

McKenna, who was a first sergeant in the U.S. Army and an active reservist, was killed by a drunk driver in 2021. He spent most of his career in law enforcement with Metro-North Police and retired as a deputy inspector.

“The dogs that we meet after donating the vest means a lot to me,” Murphy said. “These dogs have a special place in my heart because I was able to provide them with an essential piece of equipment that will keep them safe. Sometimes I almost feel like I'm an ‘honorary owner’ of the dogs I've vested. They just mean that much to me.”

For more information about Blue Line Jars, visit here.