SCRANTON, Pa. — Scranton K-9 Officer Bob Stelmak and K-9 Attyro spend a lot of time with the students at the Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County.
More recently, the duo, along with students and faculty, came up with the idea to create coloring books and stickers featuring the K-9s of the Scranton Police Department. Illustration and design students created each image in the book.
"We took references from different K-9 dogs, and we drew them doing various things," said Scranton High School senior Sephora Charlot.
Once the designs were complete, the print production students put 1,200 coloring books together.
"They're using bindery equipment, and then they will trim them down. It's really a great experience for the kids to see a project completely through from start to finish," said Rebecca Rinella, the print production technology instructor.
The coloring book isn't just in a physical version. There's also a digital version where you can scan a QR code and color on your tablet.
"Kids nowadays, you can see them on their iPad a lot, so to find a way to have them still engaged even digitally is very important," Charlot said.
The coloring books and stickers will be shared with Scranton students when Officer Stelmak and Attyro visit schools.
Students we spoke with say these books and stickers are an important tool in community police work.
"A lot of kids can be scared of police or awkward, so being able to help kids get more comfortable around police and even big dogs—they can get scared of dogs. It's nice to get them more comfortable and know that they're there to help you," said West Scranton High School senior Jacob Allert.
Teachers say the coloring books should be finished by the end of the school year on June 8.
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