DuWayne Schwartz

I am with the Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin Local 275, Neenah, WI. I have been there going on 21 years. My rank is a Fire Inspector.

The well-being of our military personnel and veterans, as well as our professionals in public safety has been a passion of mine. With PTSD and suicides on the rise over the last couple of years, I wanted to come up with a way I could give back and volunteer my time. Something different and laid back. Something less formal.

So I did a lot of research on service dogs and how a Facility Dog could benefit these individuals. I did a lot of networking and collaborating with professionals in this area and different organizations. Through that I made some connections and decided the best route would be for me to start a nonprofit organization.

So that’s when a started the process to come up with “Operation K-9 Hero”, a volunteer based nonprofit organization dedicated to our military, veterans, police, fire and paramedics who might need a little extra support through a K9 Therapy Dog. Starting a nonprofit organization and to become a 501.c.3 charity is not an easy task and is time consuming.

I figured a Facility Dog being utilized as a Therapy Dog would be a great conversation started and an ice-breaker to help be there for someone in need.

So I came across “Tio” who was in service dog training as a puppy. Tio and I started training together and he seemed to be the perfect match for me and Operation K-9 Hero and our mission. From there we became a certified Therapy Dog team, and he is now my partner.

This is our journey….helping others through a K9-human partnership.