K9 PTSD Center

07/24/2026

🐾 Join Us in Honoring Our K9 Heroes! 🇺🇸

Join us on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at Bourne High School for the K9 Hero Awards Ceremony and 5K Run/Walk!

🏅 Awards Ceremony: 9:00 AM
🏃 5K Run/Walk: 10:00 AM

Come celebrate the brave Police K9s who serve our communities and our country every day.

We are also looking for volunteers to help with registration, race support, setup, cleanup, directing participants, and other event needs. Every volunteer will receive a free official event STAFF shirt and a free water bottle as our thank-you for helping make this special day possible.

Bring your family, bring your dog, and join us in Bourne!

Register or volunteer at:
https://k9ptsd.org/race

The 5K Race/Walk/K9 Heroes is on Sunday October 18, 2026.

07/10/2026

We are honored to share the fourth and final video in our K9 Heroes License Plate series.

This final chapter honors the man to whom this plate is dedicated: K9 Sgt. Sean Gannon.

The “SG” displayed on the plate represents Sgt. Gannon and ensures that his name, his service, and his sacrifice will continue to be remembered across the Commonwealth.

Sgt. Gannon’s legacy lives on through the people he inspired, the K9 community he served, and every plate that will soon travel the roads of Massachusetts.

We are deeply honored to help preserve his memory and to recognize the extraordinary life of a true hero.

This plate is more than a symbol. It is a promise that Sgt. Sean Gannon will never be forgotten.

07/07/2026

We are excited to share some wonderful news — after over half a year of looking, the K9 PTSD Research Center will be opening a second campus on Cape Cod later this year.

This is an incredible step forward in our mission to care for the Police and Military K9 heroes who have given so much in service to others. This new campus will allow us to continue expanding our work, our research, and our lifetime care for these heroes who deserve peace, healing, and understanding.

We cannot thank the wonderful people of Cape Cod enough. From the very beginning, so many believed in this mission and wanted the Center to have a home on the Cape. They stepped forward, offered support, and helped put the resources in place to make this possible.

We are especially grateful for the love and support shown by the community and government of Bourne. Your belief in our mission and your compassion for these K9 heroes have meant more than words can express.

We are also honored that this new campus will be near State Representative Steve Xiarhos, who has been such an important voice and supporter for our K9 heroes. His dedication to those who serve, both human and K9, means so much to our mission.

K9 Satu and the other heroes are looking forward to making Bourne their new home.

Cape Cod has opened its heart to our mission, and we are honored to become part of this community later this year.

Because They Matter.
K9 PTSD Research Center

06/18/2026

🐾 Exciting Announcement from the K9 PTSD Research Center 🐾

The K9 PTSD Research Center is honored and excited to announce that our research on norepinephrine/adrenaline studies in working K9s was invited to be presented at the Vancouver Canine Conference, introducing this important work to the canine world.

This research is significant because it focuses on developing non-invasive testing methods to measure stress levels in K9s through urine testing. Better understanding stress markers in working dogs strengthens the health, treatment, and long-term care of Police, Military, and other working K9s suffering from trauma and stress-related conditions.

Our work also supports the growing understanding that C-PTSD in K9s is a real, diagnosable condition—one that deserves recognition, compassion, and proper care. With early intervention, appropriate treatment, and continued research, the quality of life for affected K9s can be significantly improved.

We are truly honored to have been accepted to present this research and grateful for the opportunity to share our work with the broader canine community.

🐕‍🦺 Advancing science. Protecting K9 heroes. Giving them the voice they deserve.

06/16/2026

At our center, we see the quiet battles many of these heroes carry long after their service ends. They have stood beside our military and Police, protected lives, searched dangerous places, and faced situations most of us can’t imagine. Just like people, they can carry trauma.
And often, that suffering takes place in silence.
They cannot explain what haunts them. They cannot tell us what memories keep them restless, fearful, guarded, or withdrawn. Their pain may show up in anxiety, fear responses, nightmares, hypervigilance, trust issues, or sudden changes in behavior. These are not signs of weakness or disobedience. They are signs of what these heroes have endured.
Some may choose to deny its existence, dismiss the symptoms, or act like these dogs should simply “get over it.” But anyone who has worked closely with them knows the truth. Trauma does not disappear just because it is unseen, unspoken, or misunderstood.
These heroes gave their loyalty, courage, and service without question. The least we can do is give them patience, understanding, care, and respect.
To those who refuse to acknowledge canine PTSD: denial does not make suffering disappear. Compassion does.

It’s not who you live for… It’s who you’d die for. Watch Brad Pitt ...

05/31/2026

It is our policy not to post EOW K9s here at the Center. But today, we make an exception for a hero who was never just part of our story — he helped shape it.

For the last seven years, K9 Kato served as our ambassador. He carried himself with quiet strength, courage, loyalty, and grace. He represented everything this Center stands for, and everything we fight for every day. All of the heroes in our care are special, and each one leaves a piece of themselves with us. But Kato left something even deeper. He left his pawprints on our hearts.

Today, the State and the country mourn the loss of a remarkable K9 who fought until the very end with all the heart he had. Kato gave so much in his lifetime — through his service, his presence, his resilience, and the comfort he brought simply by being near. He reminded us that these heroes are more than working dogs. They are partners, protectors, family, and souls who change the lives of everyone blessed to know them.

We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to K9 Sergeant David Aguiar for providing K9 Kato with his final ride. That final act of honor, dignity, and respect meant more than words can ever fully express.

Thank you, K9 Kato, for the love you gave, the lives you touched, and the strength you showed us every single day. Thank you for making this world better, gentler, and brighter just by being in it.

Your star is free now to watch over us from above.

Rest easy, Your mission here is complete.

We will take it from here.



EOW 05/31/26
Rehoboth K9 Edo

05/25/2026

This Memorial Day, we pause to honor the Military Working Dogs who served our country with courage, loyalty, and sacrifice.

These K9 heroes walked into danger, stood beside their handlers, detected threats, protected lives, and carried the weight of service with a devotion only a dog can give.

Thanks to Robby’s Law, passed in 2000, today’s Military Working Dogs have the chance to return home after their service. No heroes left behind.

Here at the K9 PTSD Research Center, we are honored to care for these heroes after the mission is over. Their service may be complete, but their need for compassion, healing, and respect continues.

To every Military Working Dog who served — we remember your courage, we honor your sacrifice, and we are grateful for the legacy you leave behind.

Never forgotten. Always honored.

05/03/2026

Criminals Don’t Stand a Chance

We are proud to release the second video in our K9 Hero License Plate video series, featuring K9 Maverick and K9 Officer Luis Pacheco from the great town of Dudley, Massachusetts.
This video is a fun reminder of something very serious: our K9 teams are out there every day protecting our communities, serving with courage, loyalty, and heart.

A huge thank you to K9 Maverick, Officer Pacheco, and the Town of Dudley for being part of this project and helping us continue to honor the K9 heroes who serve across the Commonwealth.
And to all of our amazing K9 Hero License Plate supporters — thank you. Your support made this program possible. Every plate represents love, respect, and gratitude for the heroes on four legs who stand beside those who protect us.

Stay tuned — more videos are coming.

Support the paws that enforce the laws. 🐾🇺🇸



K-9 Maverick DPD
State Representative Steve Xiarhos
Carlos Gonzalez State Representative
State Representative Justin Thurber
Senator Kelly Dooner
Steven Howitt for State Representative
Denise Morency Gannon

04/21/2026

There are moments when thank you does not feel big enough.

Today, we are overwhelmed with gratitude for the extraordinary team at Bay State Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Services Hospital. In just the last two months, they helped save the lives of three of our heroes — K9 Boomah, K9 Zack, and K9 Kato.

These heroes have given their strength, their loyalty, and their hearts in service. When they were in need, Bay State Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Services was there with unmatched compassion, brilliance, urgency, and care. Because of that care, K9 Boomah is coming home today and doing well.

That means everything.

We trust Bay State Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Services with the lives of our heroes because they continue, time and time again, to show an extraordinary level of compassion, skill, dedication, and heart. They do not just provide care — they fight for these heroes as if they were their own.

To the doctors, staff, and every hand that touched the lives of these heroes — thank you for fighting for them, for believing in them, and for treating them with the dignity and love they deserve. What you did was not just medicine. It was lifesaving mercy for heroes who have spent their lives protecting others.
Bay State Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Services, you did not just help save K9 Boomah, K9 Zack, and K9 Kato.

You gave hope back to all of us who love them.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being the these heroes are still with us.

04/19/2026

Today, we are proud to share the first video in our four-part series, with this first feature shining on K9 Sergeant David Aguiar and K9 Edo.

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to K9 Sergeant David Aguiar, K9 Edo, and the Town of Rehoboth, Massachusetts for welcoming us into their beautiful town and hosting us as we filmed this special promotion for the K9 Hero License Plates.

This first video is all about honoring David and Edo, while also helping tell the larger story of the K9 heroes who serve our communities with courage, loyalty, and heart.

We are deeply grateful to the Town of Rehoboth for helping us bring this project to life in such a meaningful setting.

Video one begins with David and Edo. Four videos. One mission. Honor the heroes.



Rehoboth K9 Edo
State Representative Steve Xiarhos
Carlos Gonzalez State Representative
Denise Morency Gannon
Senator Kelly Dooner
State Representative Justin Thurber
Steven Howitt for State Representative
Cape Cod Realtor Lori Jurkowski