Five K9 therapy dogs and their handlers gathered for the Public Safety Therapy K9 Expo on Thursday morning at the IMPD FOP Lodge #86, 1525 Shelby St., Indianapolis. Ultimate Canine training academy of Westfield was also present at the event.
The purpose of this event is to highlight and advocate for the implementation of therapy dogs within public safety.
The five therapy dogs were K9 Luna of the Noblesville Police Department, K9 Carbon of the Noblesville Fire Department, K9 Simon of the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office, K9 Allie of the Indianapolis Metro Police Department, and K9 of the Franklin Police Department. The Lawrence and Fort Wayne police departments were invited to attend, but were unable due to scheduling conflicts.
Read more about each dog below.
K9 Luna
K9 Luna
Noblesville Police Department
Luna is a black English Lab born on March 4, 2021. After completing her therapy dog certification with Ultimate Canine, Luna came to the Noblesville Police Department (NPD) where she became the first therapy dog within a public safety agency in Hamilton County.
Luna serves the community by responding to 911 emergency calls involving behavioral health, addiction, homelessness, death scenes, and other emotionally charged incidents. She uses her specialized skills to de-escalate tense situations and provide unconditional love to those in need.
Luna has responded to over 150 different incidents ranging from community relations, officer wellness, 911 crisis deployments, and with NPD’s Crisis Negotiations Unit.
Luna served as the 2022 Noblesville 4th of July Grand Marshal and has travelled as far away as Dallas, Texas, to highlight her special skills to a national audience. Luna supports the Noblesville Police Department and the Noblesville community with unwavering loyalty and unconditional love.
Her handler is Office Ben Lugar, CCIS-II.
K9 Carbon
K9 Carbon
Noblesville Fire Department
Carbon is a therapy dog for the Noblesville Fire Department (NFD). He is a black English Lab who celebrated his first birthday on Nov. 4, 2022. Carbon began his rigorous therapy training with Ultimate Canine when he was just three days old and graduated as a certified therapy dog on Oct. 26, 2022.
Carbon and his training were donated by very generous citizens who wished to remain anonymous.
He is stationed at NFD Station 71 with his primary handler, Division Chief Trevor Hash.
K9 Simon
K9 Simon
Hamilton County Coroner’s Office
Simon is a one-year-old Boxer who serves as the therapy dog for the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office. He is certified through Alliance of Therapy Dogs and has his AKC Canine Good Citizen.
Simon’s job is to comfort grieving families and the staff at the Coroner’s Office after traumatic death investigations, and he’s also in the beginning stages of being implemented for police, fire, and dispatch. His favorite toys are tennis balls, and his tongue pretty much always sticks out of his mouth, which adds to his cuteness.
He has his own trading cards, gives the best hugs ever, and his whole life motto is to snuggle and serve.
His handler is Deputy Coroner Sarah Lockhart.
You can follow Simon on Instagram at @Deputy_Coroner_Simon.
K9 Allie
K9 Allie
Indy Metro Police Department
Officer Allie joined IMPD on March 26, 2020, which was a time when not only the department, but the entire world was starting to suffer from COVID complications.
Officer Allie was unfortunately introduced to officers during COVID, but also during a tragic time for IMPD. In April, IMPD lost an officer in the line of duty, Officer Breann Leath, and Officer Allie was tasked with meeting officers for the first time and providing therapy and comfort to officers and family members.
Since then, Officer Allie has been able to visit officers at roll calls and other events through the department. Officer Allie has also been out to Police Week in Washington, D.C., to visit with surviving family members of officers killed in the line of duty from all over the country. She has also helped with other line-of-duty deaths in Indiana. She continues to provide unconditional love to everyone she meets.
Officer Allie has assisted or visited over 120 times with officers and/or family members since she joined IMPD. #LoveOnALeash
Her handler is Rob Turner (ret.).
K9 Benny
K9 Benny
Franklin Police Department
Benny is a 2 ½-year-old Australian Labradoodle from Ultimate Canine. He was given to the police department by Victory Church in Franklin.
As the embedded Social Worker for the Franklin Police Department, Karen Shaffer is the main handler for Benny. Shaffer’s role is primarily in the community, but Benny has been invaluable when meeting with clients in the office. There have been many times that Benny has been able to relieve fears or anxiety so Karen could meet with folks who otherwise might not have been able to sit through a meeting.
Benny has become quite the celebrity around Franklin and people know who he is long before introductions are made. The community loves to come into the office and give him some love and get their picture with him.
The most important role for Benny has become his interaction with the officers and other staff. Benny will often greet the officers as they come into the building and many of them look forward to that interaction. Benny is able to distract from whatever might be happening on the job and just allow the officers to relax and decompress.
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About Ultimate Canine
Ultimate Canine is an award-winning dog training academy located in Westfield. With well over 50 years of combined experience, Ultimate Canine provides training for therapy and service dogs, police and military dogs, as well as family pets.
Ultimate Canine has developed a Facility Therapy Dog Program with fully trained dogs being placed around the country into Police departments, hospitals, schools, fire departments, children advocate centers, Ronald McDonald Hospitals, drug rehab centers, dental offices, and funeral homes. Full handlers’ courses and certifications are also provided onsite for the new handler teams.
Ultimate Canine implements the most renowned techniques, studies, and practices obtained throughout the years from around the world, and continues to serve the community, helping veterans in need, law enforcement agencies, animal shelters, rescue groups, and various foundations.
Learn more at UltimateCanineTraining.com.
Reporter photos by Nik Roberts
Photos provided by Noblesville Police Officer Ben Lugar