K9 of the Year Award

Honoring Service, Sacrifice, and Legacy

A simple belief inspired the K9 of the Year Award: K9s who serve deserve recognition that reflects the dignity, respect, and honor of their service.

Through its mission, the K9 PTSD Research Center presents the award to Police, Federal, and Military K9s whose careers have made a lasting impact on handlers, agencies, communities, and the people they protected.

Recognizing a Career of Service

K9 service can take many forms. For example, dogs search for missing people, locate narcotics and explosives, assist in apprehensions, detect human remains, and support other public-safety missions.

Some K9s earn recognition for a lifesaving deployment. Others build a record through years of steady service. In both cases, training, partnership, responsibility, courage, and trust define the work.

The K9 of the Year Award recognizes both the moments people remember and the careers behind them. More importantly, it gives those careers a place in the public record.

2026 Honoree K9 Mr. Warner 

Among the 2026 honorees is retired Springfield Police K9 Mr. Warner. K9 Officer Eric Blair handled Mr. Warner during his career.

Mr. Warner assisted in hundreds of arrests involving firearms, narcotics, armed robberies, and break-ins. In addition, he supported surrounding agencies in missing-person searches and other investigations.

His record reflects the sustained service the award recognizes. One case may stand out; however, years of training, deployments, decisions, and partnership between dog and handler define an entire K9 career.

Preserving the Record of Service

For James LaMonte, Director of the K9 PTSD Research Center, recognition also serves a larger purpose.

“The K9 of the Year Award is more than a recognition ceremony,” LaMonte said. “It brings the stories of these heroes into the light and reminds the world that K9s serve with courage, loyalty, and sacrifice daily. These awards honor their service, educate the public, and make sure their legacy is respected and remembered.”

Beyond a single call, case, or deployment lies a much larger record of service. As a result, recognition can preserve more than one achievement. It can document the training, responsibility, partnership, and contributions that define a K9’s career.

Ultimately, the K9 of the Year Award gives handlers, agencies, and communities a way to preserve that record and keep those contributions visible long after the work ends.

Learn more about the K9 of the Year Award at k9ptsd.org/award.