09/22/2026
This hurts so so badly.
It is with an incredibly heavy heart that we share the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Danny Parker, who passed away yesterday.
The word is beginning to circulate throughout the K9 community, and it is difficult to find words that adequately describe what Danny meant to Vohne Liche Kennels and to so many of us personally.
For more than 25 years, Danny was an integral part of VLK. But simply calling him an employee or colleague doesn't begin to tell his story.
Danny was a friend. A mentor. A teacher. A guiding light. He was someone whose knowledge, experience, character, and friendship helped shape VLK and generations of K9 handlers and trainers around the world.
Over the course of his career, Danny touched the lives of thousands of people throughout the law enforcement, military, and working-dog communities. Some knew him as an instructor. Some as a mentor. Some as the person they could call when they needed advice.
And many of us were fortunate enough to simply call him our friend.
His influence extended far beyond the training field. The lessons Danny taught, the standards he helped establish, the handlers he mentored, and the friendships he built will continue to be felt throughout the K9 community for many years to come.
For those of us at VLK who had the privilege of working beside him for decades, this loss is immeasurable. Professionally, we have lost a tremendous source of knowledge and experience. Personally, we have lost someone who was a big part of our family.
There are people who work for an organization, and then there are people who become part of its history and its identity.
Danny Parker was VLK.
To Danny's family, friends, former students, handlers, trainers, and the countless people around the world whose lives he touched, we share in your grief and offer our deepest condolences.
Danny, thank you for the lessons, the stories, the laughter, the friendship, and the example you gave all of us.
Your legacy will live on every time a handler steps onto a training field, every time an instructor passes along something you taught them, and every time one of us tells a Danny Parker story.
You will be deeply missed, my friend.
Rest easy, Danny. Your watch is over, but your influence will never be forgotten.
