South Fayette
Boy Scout raises
more than
$5,000 for Scott
Township police
dog.
BY PAUL GLASSER
A
fter Pittsburgh Police K-9 Officer Rocco
died in the line of duty in 2014, Noah
Magdich wanted to do what he could
to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring
again. The man who stabbed Rocco was
sentenced to serve between three and a half
and seven years in prison.
“I have always been a dog person,” says
Noah, whose family has a 2-year-old boxergreyhound mix named Banjo. “It really
affected me to see Rocco killed.”
A junior at South Fayette High School,
Noah is a member of Boy Scout Troop 248
in Oakdale, and last year he organized a
fundraiser as part of his Eagle Scout project.
He collected more than $5,000 and used the
money to purchase a protective vest for Lord,
a K-9 officer at the Scott Township Police
Department. Lord is an 8-year-old German
shepherd who is trained to detect narcotics.
The vest only cost about $800 so Noah
also purchased a temperature control unit
for around $2,100 that will alert Lord’s
partner, Officer Shane McGrath, when it
gets too hot in the patrol car. McGrath’s
cruiser already had a control system, but the
new equipment was an upgrade because it
will send a text to McGrath’s cell phone and
open the doors so that Lord can get out in an
emergency. Even after buying the additional
equipment, Noah still had about $2,200 left
over, which he donated to the Scott Township
Police Department to make additional K-9
equipment purchases in the future.
It took about a year to complete the project.
The temperature control unit was installed
in March, and in May, Lord received the
vest, which will help protect him from being
stabbed or shot. Noah hosted a pancake
breakfast at St. Barbara Roman Catholic
Church in Bridgeville last year and recruited
volunteers to help cook pancakes. About 250
people attended and the event collected about
$2,700. He raised the rest of the money by
creating an online fundraiser at gofundme.
com. Noah also posted fliers advertising the
fundraiser at his church and other locations.
“I was expecting some support but not this
much,” he says.
He has stayed in contact with Lord and
McGrath and says Lord wears the protective
vest whenever he enters a dangerous situation.
Noah also participated in the Scott Township
Public Safety Day in June and helped
demonstrate how K-9 officers neutralize
suspects. He wore a bulky suit, which was
hot and heavy but protected him from Lord’s
powerful bite.
“I was very nervous but excited,” Noah said.
“Officer McGrath knows grown men who
wouldn’t put the bite suit on. When Lord
latched on, I could feel the pressure of his bite
on my arm but no pain.”
Noah expects to complete all the
requirements to become an Eagle Scout by
October. He became a Boy Scout in the first
grade and has wanted to become an Eagle
Scout since watching a friend be inducted
several years ago. Scouting has taught him
a lot of practical skills, such as survival and
automotive maintenance. Noah also served
as senior patrol leader