K-9 Bruno

Program Member #185

It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share in the passing of Project K-9 Hero Program Member #185, K-9 “Bruno,” who was retired from the United States Border Patrol. Bruno crossed the rainbow bridge with dignity and honor, in the presence of his Handler and Family, on October 13th, 2025 at 16:42 hours ET.  

Bruno was a member of our pack for over three years. He made special trips to our facility to meet our staff, and participated in events such as our annual Performers For Paws in Nashville. The night we inducted Bruno in our program, he was awaiting surgery by the team of Veterinarians at the Animal Emergency and Speciality Center of Knoxville, TN. After we paid over $8k for an Bruno to get the emergency procedure he needed to save his life, he had been given just a 30% chance of survival. He pulled through that incident, and went on to live an additional 40 months with his family, which was extremely remarkable!

K-9 Bruno served with the United States Border Patrol in Blaine, Washington from 2014-2021. There he helped locate illegal narcotics and concealed humans trying to be illegally smuggled in and out of our country via ground, aviation, and maritime transportation. Bruno had a very successful career but once he retired, all costs associated with his medical care became the responsibility of his Handler. We at PK9H were honored to have assumed that financial burden and have the opportunity to spread awareness of our mission to assist Heroes like Bruno.

Please keep Bruno’s Handler and Family in your thoughts, as he was deeply loved by all who knew him. We at PK9H are thankful for the opportunity to serve Bruno in retirement, and will never let him be forgotten!

July 18th, 2013 - October 13th, 2025

MPC Sepp

Program Member #200

It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share in the passing of Project K-9 Hero’s 200th Program Member, Multi-Purpose Canine (MPC) “SEPP.”

MPC Sepp honorably served for five years with the U.S. Army’s 2nd Ranger Battalion, in the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. During his highly decorated service, MPC Sepp participated in four (4) combat deployments to Afghanistan. MPC Sepp lead platoons of Rangers during dozens of Special Operations and Direct Action Raids for High-Value Targets. His actions resulted in multiple apprehensions of combatents and multiple finds of enemy explosive caches.

As a member of Ranger Strike Force, Sepp conducted multiple bunker, building, and grove clearances, where he also was the lead element on numerous battle damage assessments. MPC Sepp had also taken part in a number of expeditionary missions, staging and conducting overnight raids just hours after being notified.

We were honored to pay the medical expenses for MPC Sepp in retirement.

Please take a moment to read this article about Sepp from when he first came into our program in 2022 on our website at:

https://projectk9hero.org/pages/mpc-sepp

November 1st, 2012 - October 17th, 2025

K-9 Piton

Program Member #315

It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share in the passing of our 315th Project K-9 Hero Pack Member, K-9 Piton. His adopted family noticed he was showing signs of Gastric Torsion (Bloat) and Piton was immediately rushed to the ER, where their suspicions were confirmed.

Piton underwent emergency surgery to save his life, which we at PK9H approved and funded. Once the main issue was resolved, the doctors noticed that his spleen was also damaged and needed removal. During that process, Piton stopped breathing, and several rounds of CPR were administered with no success, breaking the hearts of the family that loved him so much since January 18th, when they picked him up at our Rehabilitation & Rehoming Facility in Tennessee.

“Piton was the best addition to our family and, even though he was only with us for nine months, it felt like we had him his whole life. We loved him so much and will miss him terribly,” said Trish Olsen Hennig, the mother of his adopted family. “Thank you again for allowing us to adopt him and love him.”

Piton honorably served as an Explosives Detection K-9 for the United States Capitol Police from 2018 through 2024. During that time, Piton conducted explosives detection screening for daily security operations in Washington D.C., which includes but not limited to VIP arrivals (POTUS, VPOTUS, Foreign Dignitaries etc.) Joint Session of Congress, State of the Unions, and Inaugurations.

Piton was having a stellar career until he was retired with his Handler in 2024. The reason for the early retirement was because his Handler was diagnosed with brain cancer. At that time, he had been moved to hospice, with potentially only nine months left to live. This left Piton in need of immediately being placed in a new home, and we at PK9H were contacted to see if we could assist. Given the circumstances, we knew that we had to immediately help Piton and his Handler. We were able to coordinate with the family and bring K-9 Piton to our facility, where he lived for a short period of time until we found him the perfect fur-ever home.

Please take a moment to remember K-9 Piton and keep his original Handler and adopted Family in your thoughts. PK9H was honored to protect you, Piton, after all you had done to serve the United States of America.

March 2nd, 2018 - October 20th, 2025

K-9 EEbbers (T352)

Program Member #251

It is with an extremely heavy heart  that we share in the passing of Project K-9 Hero’s 251st Pack Member, K-9 EEbbers (T352), retired from the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration - TSA.

K-9 EEbbers was a 14 1/2 year old male Vizsla/Labrador Retriever trained in explosives detection. He honorably served for a decade, starting at the Kansas City International Airport, then finishing his working career at the Mpls/St. Paul International Airport (MSP).

EEbbers was born into TSA's Puppy Program at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. At the time of his retirement, he was the last remaining Puppy Program canine still working daily for the agency. He was named after U.S. Army Private 2nd Class, James Ebbers, who died at age 19, in Djibouti, Africa in 2002 during Operation Enduring Freedom, while assigned to the 551st Military Police Company (based at Fort Campbell, KY.).

Over EEbbers' career, he had helped support security operations for the Indy 500, multiple NFL Super Bowls, the National College Football Championship in Tampa, the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, the Ryder Cup, and the College Basketball Final Four. In addition, K-9 EEbbers kept millions of passengers safe during their travel through the Kansas City and Minneapolis Airports. EEbbers was nationally voted TSA’s “Cutest Canine” in 2022.

In retirement, K-9 EEbbers was diagnosed with a very serious heart condition that needed to be monitored and treated by a Cardiologist. Those medical costs were no longer covered in retirement for EEbbers, and had become a financial burden on his Handler, who also cared for his littermate, retired TSA Canine EEtte (named after Sadie Ette, a young executive killed in one of the towers on 9/11).

Project K-9 Hero was honored to cover all of EEbbers medical expenses at 100% for almost the last three years of his life. EEbbers was deeply loved by his Handler, and he served the citizens of United States of America with true dedication and distinction.

Please take a moment to remember K-9 EEbbers, as we at PK9H will ensure that he is Never Forgotten! EEbbers deserves that after all he had done for our communities and our country !

January 1st, 2011 - October 20th, 2025

K-9 Chief

Program Member #284

It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share in the passing of our 284th Project K-9 Hero Pack Member, K-9 Chief. Chief honorably served as a Person-Borne Explosives Detection K-9 for the United States Capitol Police from 2016 through 2024, to prevent potential suicide bombers from approaching the U.S. Capitol and our elected officials.

K-9 Chief worked outside in all types of weather conditions, screening hundreds of thousands of pedestrians coming to visit or attending high-level government functions. During his eight years of service with U.S. Capitol Police, Chief deployed during two Presidential Inaugurations, seven State of the Union addresses, numerous Head of State visits, dozens of summer concerts, and many Congressional votes and events. K-9 Chief deployed during heightened security incidents such as the Alexandria Congressional Baseball practice shooting on June 14th, 2017.

We at PK9H were honored to serve K-9 Chief in retirement, assisting with his medical bills! PK9H will ensure that you are Never Forgotten, after all you have done to serve the United States of America .

August 23rd, 2015 - October 21st, 2025