The Guardian K9 Foundation was founded to address a critical yet overlooked need in the first responder community. While many nonprofit organizations provide service dogs for military veterans, children, and police officers, there are very few programs dedicated to supporting firefighters and paramedics—despite their alarmingly high rates of PTSD, depression, and suicide.

Firefighters and paramedics experience significant trauma throughout their careers, responding to life-threatening emergencies, witnessing severe injuries, and enduring the constant physical and emotional toll of their jobs. Studies have shown that PTSD rates among firefighters and paramedics are as high as 30%, yet most mental health resources available to them do not include service dogs.

Service dogs have been scientifically proven to reduce PTSD symptoms, lower anxiety, improve emotional stability, and enhance quality of life for individuals suffering from trauma-related disorders. However, the cost of obtaining a trained service dog ranges from $25,000 to $40,000, making them financially inaccessible for most first responders.

Guardian K9 Foundation exists to fill this gap by training and donating highly skilled service dogs at no cost to qualifying firefighters and paramedics. Our service dogs will be trained specifically for PTSD support, anxiety reduction, mobility assistance, and night terror intervention—helping first responders reclaim their mental health, independence, and stability.