By Police1 Staff
TAYLOR, Mich. — A Texas officer made his way up north to Michigan to deliver a four-legged Christmas gift to the family of an officer killed in the line of duty.
The News Herald reports that Officer Danny McWilliams gifted a therapy dog named Preston to the family of Officer Matt Edwards, who died after being shot six times while investigating a breaking-and-entering report in 2010. He was the first officer from the Taylor PD to be killed in the line of duty.
McWilliams began rescuing dogs and training them for families of fallen officers after a friend and his partner were killed in Louisiana in 2012. McWilliams believed that if dogs can help soldiers with PTSD, they can also be trained to help families of fallen officers, so he started a program called the Thin Blue Line Dog Project.
https://twitter.com/CityofTaylorMI/status/942811975758725121
Preston was the first canine to complete the training under the program. When Preston was ready to be placed in a home, McWilliams contacted 10-7 Outdoors, which is a non-profit organization that works with children of fallen officers.
That’s when he got in touch with Officer Edwards’ wife, Shannon.
After a long flight to Detroit, McWilliams showed up at the Taylor Police Department to personally deliver Preston to Shannon and her family. He also brought custom shirts and hoodies with Officer Edwards’ name and badge number.
It was an emotional moment for Shannon. She said her late husband did have a German Shepherd, but it “basically grieved itself to death.” She never had another dog since then. Until now.