A future canine arriving at the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office will be named in honor of a local animal lover and his caring family.

Dolores A. Costa of Dartmouth presented a $1,000 donation to the sheriff’s office canine program on March 15 in honor of her late husband, Bill Costa.

“I can tell you he’s smiling now,” Costa said after presenting the donation to Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson. “My husband loved animals. He would be so happy right now.”

Hodgson presented Costa and her daughters, Deby Rezendes and Dolores Patenaude, with an official citation of gratitude for the donation.

He said it will be used to secure another canine for the department, which will be named after Mr. Costa.

“It’s heartening for our entire staff to see caring people in the community coming forward to help out,” Hodgson said. “We want to put it toward another canine named Bill.”

Mr. Costa passed away on Jan. 18 after a brief illness. He was married to Mrs. Costa for 57 years, living in New Bedford before moving to Dartmouth in 1980. The Marine Corps veteran and his wife had 11 dogs over the years. The last paragraph of his obituary stated that donations may be made to an animal cause of the donor’s choosing in lieu of flowers.

Col. Robert Sylvia of the sheriff’s office canine program said the donation was needed and appreciated.

“We’re very thankful,” Sylvia said. “Funding is tight, so this will go a long way to help us purchase another canine.”

The sheriff’s office canine teams have been called upon to investigate and assist local police departments on a range of matters, from armed robberies and narcotics problems to missing children and search and rescue.

The work performed by the sheriff’s office canine teams made the decision to make a donation in Mr. Costa’s memory an easy one for the family.

“This is like Christmas for her,” Patenaude said about her mother. “This is going to do so much good.”