Please Welcome K-9 Kevin #312

This Thanksgiving, we at Project K-9 Hero wanted to find a special way to help a retired working dog and first responder family in need of our assistance the most. After scanning through our 800 plus applications for program services, we selected to assist retired Police K-9 “Kevin” from Ludlow Police Department, Kentucky. We are welcoming him to our Pack as our 312th Program Member.

In February of 2023, K-9 Kevin began to become unreliable during work. While he was still somewhat young, they could not seem to fix the issues he was starting to have while working through training. Kevin was becoming more and more skittish until it became an issue that he was undeployable.

He retired in April 2023, shortly before a tumor in his mouth was found. The tumor was pushing Kevin's teeth out and forcing them above the gum line. K-9 Kevin had three teeth pulled and a biopsy of the tumor, which tested positive for cancer, and it was decided the best chance of saving Kevin was to remove the bottom left part of his mandible.

Unfortunately, due to the partial removal his jaw, K-9 Kevin could not return to police work. Once he was retired in April, the responsibility of care was also transferred to his still-serving, active duty Handler. Kevin and he had become partners after his first police dog, K-9 Oakley, suffered a line of duty injury that resulted in his death. The Handler stated, “I did not take this well, and Kevin became more than just a police dog for me, he helped me to learn to live with the survivor's guilt I had from when Oakley died. Kevin is the most affectionate police dog I have ever been around; he sleeps in bed with me, goes on vacation with our family, and is my unofficial support dog. Even retired, he accompanies me to the office on most days, with the Department allowing me to still care for him while on duty.”