In 1999, eleven-year-old Stephanie Taylor read a story about a New Jersey police dog named “Solo” who was killed in the line of duty. This story, along with the knowledge that the Associated Humane Society of New Jersey had raised money to vest their police dogs, gave her the idea to start VEST-A-DOG, Inc. Her first dog to be vested would be "Tiko", the K-9 partner of Oceanside, California Officer Jim Wall.

Stephanie started her project by making donation boxes and distributing them in local veterinarians' offices and pet stores. After her donation boxes and fliers were delivered she then contacted her local newspaper to inform them of her program. The response to her efforts astounded everyone. Within three weeks, Stephanie had not only received enough money to purchase one vest for Tiko, but had raised enough funds to buy another five vests for the Oceanside Police K-9 Department.

However, Stephanie’s program did not stop locally. She continued her quest to protect the law enforcement dogs in her county and collected enough funds to provide bulletproof vests for more than fifty dogs in San Diego County.

The VEST-A-DOG, Inc. Foundation has now expanded nationwide with the help of other community fund-raisers and direct donations. Stephanie has managed to vest over thousands of dogs in the United States and Canada since the start of the program in June of 1999.  The organization is committed to provide bulletproof vests to law enforcement dogs throughout the country.