HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) -- When a police or military dog is given the honor to retire from service, they are usually left without any financial support to pay for the their medical needs. It is a problem that Jason Johnson noticed and what led him to creating Project K-9 Hero.
"To make sure that no K-9 goes without the care it needs, and that those individuals that served our country, whether it be in our communities or overseas, do not go into personal financial debt," Johnson said when asked why he started to his non-profit.
The non-profit started in 2016 and has raised over $20 million in donations over that time. Project K-9 Hero has helped 289 dogs in the eight years its been operating. Johnson said there are more than 700 dogs waiting to be approved.
Johnson said it is a $25,000 commitment to each dog it approves into the program. That is why they can only commit to approving one dog per week. Johnson said he hopes one day he can increase the number of dogs approved each week.
Project K-9 Hero also has a 177-acre rehabilitation facility in Tennessee that is able to take in dogs that can not be adopted after retirement. It is usually dogs that have trouble adapting to a home life or fitting in with a family or other dogs.
One dog that was able to take advantage of the project is Elute, a 12-year-old black German Shepherd that now lives in Hutto with his handler from the Air Force. Elute served in the Air Force for eight years and was able to find people hiding in buildings, detect narcotics, and search for missing people.
"These dogs do more for their country than most people do. They don't get a choice out of it," Catherine Lund, Elute's handler, said.
Lund said Elute has hip dysplasia and organ failure from his time in the service. The cost of taking care of him post retirement was a lot more expensive than she thought. When he as first retired, he became very sick and had to be taken to an emergency veterinarian, Lund explained.
Lund said the hospital made her pay $2,000 up front just to take care of him. It was money she did not have. Elute was approved by Project K-9 Hero in 2021 and since then, Lund has not paid a dime. In total, the non-profit has paid $5,000 of medical treatments for Elute, according to Lund.
"I haven't had to worry about a cent since. It was an amazing feeling knowing that somebody was there to help out, and it's genuine as well," Lund said.
The organization is always looking for donations from people who want to help out the retired dogs. You can find out how to donate on their website.
