The Fetch Foundation

The Fetch Foundation Homeless 2 Hero


We know there are many unwanted dogs in shelters that have the skills to perform important functions.

The Fetch Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to saving and changing lives in the animal and human communities through innovative strategies and unique programs supporting first responders, therapy, and service K9 handlers. We work to identify those dogs based on their skills and behaviors so we can give them a job and lead fulfilling lives. Our Homeless 2 Hero program networks

with rescues, shelters, and other agencies to find and evaluate canine candidates that would assist people in various ways. Once identified, The Fetch Foundation evaluates these dogs and through our network, we place them in a loving home where they can live a life of purpose. Service Dog Program

The objective of our Service Program is to identify, train, and provide high-quality service dogs at no cost to disabled persons of all ages in order to help restore their physical and emotional independence. A successful service dog possesses the ability to be calm, friendly, confident, trainable, and capable of seeking out and doing the same job day after day. With the help of a wide network of organizations, we are able to rescue, train and place dogs in many capacities. Mobility, PTSD, Diabetes Alert, Hearing Assistance are some of the successful placements we are proud to have been a part of. Search and Rescue

The mission of our Search Program is to strengthen disaster response by rescuing, recruiting, and partnering dogs with firefighters and other first responders to find people lost or in the wreckage of disasters. The dogs and their handlers are certified in disaster, wilderness, and urban searches. Both Human Remains and Live Scent disciplines are taught. Requirements for a successful search and rescue (SAR) dog include trainability, agility, endurance, and most of all HIGH PLAY DRIVE. The ability to get along with other dogs and people is a must. SAR K9s are usually the working and sporting breeds of dogs. Our candidates have come from county kill shelters, other rescues, and sometimes right off the street. K9 Therapy Program

The goal of our Therapy Program is to identify and provide candidates and connect them with human handlers, engaging both in the process of treatment and/or recovery. It has long been recognized that contact with a therapy dog helps subjects' physical, mental, emotional, and social states. Therapy dogs come in all shapes and sizes but all have a sweet temperament. Therapy dog candidates must be friendly, patient, confident, gentle, and calm as their primary job includes visits to hospitals, special needs centers, schools, and nursing homes. Our latest placements have been made to Police or Fire departments. They are used to de-escalate very high-stress environments.

08/23/2026

A WIN FOR OUR FALLEN AND THEIR FAMILIES

Last week at the 2026 IAFF Convention, delegates took an important step toward making sure our fallen Brothers and Sisters are never forgotten because of an administrative technicality.

Resolution 42 was introduced to address a policy issue that could have prevented retired members who later died from occupational illnesses, including presumptive cancers, from being honored on the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Wall in Colorado Springs because they did not have Active Retiree status.

For Glendale Firefighters Local 493, this hits especially close to home. Two of our own fallen members, Firefighter Max Sine and Captain Kevin Thompson, along with their families, could have been impacted by this policy.

Local 493 Chapter President Arick O’Hara took the convention floor and spoke passionately in support of Resolution 42, explaining the impact this issue has on our Glendale families and why our fallen members deserve to be honored regardless of their membership status at the time of their passing.

Occupational cancer does not care whether a firefighter is active or retired. The exposures we face while protecting our communities do not become any less real after retirement.

The voices of Local 493 and firefighters from across the United States and Canada were heard.

Resolution 42 PASSED.

This resolution will help ensure that IAFF members whose deaths are attributable to line-of-duty exposures can be permanently honored on the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Wall, regardless of whether they were active or retired members at the time of their passing.

This is more than a policy change. It is about honoring our fallen, supporting their families, and making sure their sacrifice is never forgotten.

We remember. We honor. We never forget.

Firefighter Max Sine
Captain Kevin Thompson

08/13/2026

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Cave Creek, AZ

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