Crisis Canines of the Midlands is a non-profit 501c3 organization. Our mission is to support Crisis Response K9 teams, which consist of a first responder handler partnered with a nationally certified Therapy Dog. In addition to providing financial support for these teams through donations from individuals and businesses, we also develop and implement training and deployment protocols to maintain c
onsistent professional standards. A Crisis Response K9 team can perform a wide variety of services to fellow first responders and to the community. Examples of “deployments” over and above being an extension of the handler’s daily duties within their agency would include the following:
Public events
Community outreach and engagement
Major/traumatic incidents
School demonstrations
Grief, loss and trauma support
Natural disaster incidents
Victim forensic interviews
Criminal investigations/interviews
Crisis intervention
Medical facility visits (hospitals, nursing homes, VA clinics, etc.) Staff wellness and peer support
Service in partnership with government and non-profit organizations who address the effects of trauma, mental health and crime. Our goal is to grow the Crisis Response K9 program in Iowa to the level that teams are available state-wide to respond to any any critical incident, disaster, or other event where a therapy K9 can help reduce the stress of the first responders or the people involved.
