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Nov 21, 2007 7:59 pm US/Eastern
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Big Ben Delivers On Promise To Help Police
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger already delivered one for the thumb for Pittsburgh.
Now, he's gone to the dogs by delivering on a
pledge to help police departments throughout the entire country.
Ben loves dogs.
He has two of them including the Burmese mountain dog he received on a trip to Switzerland.
His love of dogs and what happened this summer in his hometown of Findlay, Ohio have combined to become an important part of the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation.
"In my hometown our one and only police dog was shot this summer," said Roethlisberger. "So it was kind of the first thing I did inside my foundation. Let's purchase a police dog for the City of Findlay and it just kind of grew from there."
And now Ben has a similar gift for Pittsburgh.
Ben's foundation is giving the Pittsburgh Police Department's canine unit a $15,000 grant.
It will help purchase two new canine police officers dogs.
It's a chance for Ben to give more to the city and to recognize the good work of our police force.
"I have a lot of friends in my hometown who are officers," he said. "Once I got here, I got more friends who are officers here. So it just kind of evolved. I think they do so much for the community and I think they're under-appreciated too many times. So, I figured what a better way to help out and appreciate them."
The dogs do scent tracking bomb, drug detection and other things that could be unsafe for police officers.
"For example, a building search for a burglary type suspect," said
Sgt. Chris Micknowski of the Pittsburgh Police. " The dog will actually go in a darkened, unknown building and the dog will search at a much faster pace and locate that person. And do it in a much safer way."
Not only is Ben helping police here, his foundation is making similar donations in every city the Steelers play in away games, too.
So, what does Ben think about children thinking he's their hero?
"When you're growing up… and I've always wanted to be a professional athlete, you don't think about the little things and being a hero," he said. "You think about who your heroes are but as a kid you don't flip it around and think someday maybe some kid will look up to me. But as I got older, in college… and now here that's what I want to do with my status: try to be a hero, a role model. That's what I try to do. I want to be in Pittsburgh for my career and that's why I'm trying to get as involved as I can."
Cochran Automotive is also helping pay for the new police dogs.
Besides the dogs, Ben Roethlisberger's foundation is also involved with the Ronald McDonald House and youth football in his hometown of Findlay.
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