FTK9 In the News

Fire Team K9 Facility Dog Daisy was recently in the spotlight following her participation in Petawawa’s McHappy Day. Serving up smiles and supporting healthcare: McHappy Day 2026 Servir des sourires et soutenir les soins de santé : Grand McDon 2026 By Lisa Brazeau | May 21, 2026 Version française (Photo : Lisa Brazeau, Journal Petawawa Post) May...

Army veteran John Parker, who lives with post-traumatic stress disorder, says he “couldn’t leave the house” before meeting his custom-trained service dog, Pauly. CTV’s Dave Charbonneau reports that Pauly is the 100th graduate of the Wounded Warriors Canada service dog program. Parker’s wife, Tracey Brais-Parker, says the dog has allowed them to “reintegrate into society,”...

Wounded Warriors, Legion mark milestone of pairing 100 service dogs with veterans By Dave Charbonneau Opens in new window Published: February 25, 2026 at 3:32PM EST Army veteran John Parker spent years afraid to step outside his own front door. “I got to a point, prior to my release and after my release, where I couldn’t...

What’s Good in Pembroke? Where Paws Meet Purpose: Fire Team K9 opens new facility By myFM News/Oldies 107.7 staffJan 20, 2026 | 4:45 PM Jennifer and Jeff Hinch and two of their “Students” Fire Team K9 has a brand-new location, and owners Jeff and Jennifer Hinch are settling in as they continue to provide one...

We Remember: Fire Team K9 Service Dogs helping to combat PTSD in The Valley By myFM News/Oldies 107.7 staffNov 11, 2025 | 6:00 AM Jeff Hinch came out to The Valley in 1998 and he hasn’t left since. Prior to that Jeff did four tours of duty which took him to Bosnia once and three...

Happy National Dog Day! Last week, Emmett (Great Dane) and Chopper visited our team our amazing facility dogs from Fire Team K9 Service Dogs . These two bring comfort, smiles, and support to Paramedics during training, debriefs, and tough days on the job. Watch Video recap here. A big thank-you to Fire Team K9 for...

Veterans, mental health, and the service dog connection Dec 6, 2024 Operation Service Dog has provided over $2-million to help train and pair over 61 veterans with service dogs, with 27 more on the way. This opinion article content is reproduced with permission from The Hill Times where it was originally published as part of...

Chopper has been busy in the community recently, visiting the Pembroke Public Library for StoryTime Literacy Programs for both children and adults may employ Facility Dogs as a confidence aid for new readers. Dogs are non-judgemental and comforting listeners, and can be a novel addition to public activities like this. And of course, in these...

Over the summer a great idea became reality. Today, we are sending out a huge “thanks a million” to Veterans Framing & Structure Co., owner James Mailman along with Laura Pelkey, Administration Officer. It was an exciting day at K-9 HQ when the truck pulled up with a ‘special delivery’. Thanks to Ricky and Eric...

By: Tina Peplinskie Photos: Kat Forder Publishing date: Dec 20, 2021 A local non-profit corporation with the mission to source, train, and match service dogs with veterans and first responders has continued to grow and thrive despite the pandemic. Fire Team K-9’s Headquarters in Pembroke opened in September 2020, providing grooming, dog day care and...

Our Service Dogs and Service Dogs in Training recently had the chance to visit the City of Pembroke Fire Department to learn about the sights, sounds and scents of our local first responders. As working dogs it is vitally important for our pups to know that first responders are friendly. A big thank you to...

Fire Team K-9’s service dogs put to the test at Grn Petawawa fire hall Patricia Lebeouf – Petawawa Post Service dogs must be ready for anything life may throw their way in order to keep their human safe. To ensure that they are ready to respond to anything, the Fire Team K-9’s pups are put...

WOUNDED WARRIORS CANADA ADDS FIRE TEAM K-9 TO PTSD SERVICE DOG PROGRAM Wounded Warriors Canada (WWC) is proud to announce that Fire Team K-9 has been added to its PTSD Service Dog program supporting injured Veterans and First Responders. As a training provider, Fire Team K-9 will work in collaboration with the program’s various training...

  K9 Headquarters open for business, profits to fund service dogs for veterans Tina Peplinskie – Pembroke Observer The K9 Headquarters officially opened its doors on Boundary Road in Pembroke at the beginning of September and the official ribbon cutting ceremony was held a month later. The one-stop shop for four legged-friends offers grooming services,...

2021 taught us how to pivot, stay flexible and embrace change. Teaching our Service Dogs in Training (SDiT) about the world, when everything is shut down, required creativity and perseverance. Your support during this past year has means that we end year with 16 SDiT in the program, exceeding our goals! We’re looking forward to...

Service Dog Professor Plum recently went to work at The Lavallee Health Centre teaching staff about how Service Dogs work with Veterans. Do you have a team building event, lunch and learn, or staff gathering in need of a guest speaker? Fire Team K-9’s has several team members available to visit with your workplace!

Service Dogs in Training (SDiT) receive intensive training for 2 years, and ongoing training throughout their working life. Working dogs like Briar are trained to work unobtrusively in public spaces, like this barbershop. Here she remains readily available to her Handler, but out of the way until she is needed. Special thanks to The Valley...

Fire Team K9’s Service Dogs attended Remembrance Day Ceremonies throughout the Ottawa Valley and beyond this year, from The National Military Cemetery to the Pembroke War Memorial Cenotaph  and to Garrison Petawawa and Deep River.  

A fire team is two soldiers working together. Fire Team partners depend on each other. For many veterans a service dog is like having a fire team partner. Our service dogs and handlers work together as a team. PTSD service dogs are trained to perform special tasks such as sorrow and nightmare interruption. Service dogs...

A huge Fire Team K-9’s thank you goes out to our Student Volunteer Chloe who took the initiative this summer to plan and execute a fundraiser for our Service Dogs in Training. She presented Jen Hinch, Director of Operations, with the proceeds of her sticker sale fundraiser this weekend. Fundraising is crucial for FTK-9’s as...