LILBURN – On April 25, Parkview Christian School presented the Lilburn Police Department with a handmade doghouse for its new K9.
Students in Joanne Gray’s fifth-grade class measured the wood and assembled the doghouse in two weeks, learning some lessons in mathematics and teamwork along the way. Officers worked side-by-side with the children, except for K9 Officer AJ Ajanovic – the kids insisted the final product should be a surprise for him.
During an unveiling ceremony, Principal Cindy Nation said, “I believe these 5th graders have learned some life lessons they’ll never forget. And to quote one of them, they will never look at a police officer the same way, and I think that’s due to the relationships that your officers have built with these students.”
The project began with an assignment to do something that would positively impact the community. “Even though this is the end of a project, it’s actually the beginning of bigger works to come, because these fifth-graders are going to continue to do things to help other people,” Community Relations Officer Mike Johnson said.
Officer Ajanovic will travel to North Carolina on May 1 to begin training with the one-year-old Belgian Malinois named Ajax. The duo will be back in Lilburn and patrolling the roads by summer.
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