Former Lakewood police officer Erick Perez’s life changed forever in December 2021 when a mass shooter killed five people, injured his partner and shot at him. But with the help of Conifer nonprofit Faithfully K9 and his dog Chispa, the change marked an unexpected evolution in his life of service — not the end of it.
Chispa, originally adopted as a family pet, is now a service dog. And Perez is a trainer with Faithfully K9 who’s also pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling.
“It’s been amazing,” Perez said. “Because I went through that therapeutic healing myself, I fell in love with it.
“We’ve been conditioned to be hard and suck it up,” he continued. “But much like we go see a doctor when something hurts in our body, I think it’s also important to look at our mental health. And a service dog, with its unconditional love and the bond you have, makes a difference. It’s amazing what a dog can do in your life.”
Conifer resident Cathy Kowalski founded Faithfully K9 in 2018 to help those with disabilities or suffering the effects of trauma. Unlike service dog organizations that match people with a puppy — requiring years of training — Faithfully K9 works with an individual to train their own dog or puppy as a service dog. Training typically takes 7 to 12 months.
“I saw a void,” said Kowalski, formerly a trainer with Englewood-based Freedom Service Dogs. “Many times, people had a great dog at home they already had a relationship with, but had to add an already trained dog to their household.
“We also feel these dogs save lives because their owners don’t have to wait 3 to 5 years to get a dog,” she continued. “We work with a lot of veterans who have PTSD. If you have PTSD, you don’t have years to wait.”
Regardless of breed, she said, the canine’s character traits make it uniquely qualified to be a service animal.
“Dogs don’t judge you,” Kowalski said. “They love you no matter what. They just want to please you and be there for you — and they bring a smile to your face.”
In 2023, with the help of three trainers, Faithfully K9 graduated 30 dogs from its program. At least 50% of the dogs it trains were adopted as rescues, and training is provided at no cost to veterans or active duty military. Civilians pay a significantly discounted rate.
Not every dog makes it through the program, or qualifies to participate. Kowalski and her fellow trainers pull on ears, pick up paws and do a variety of other physical tests on each candidate dog. While many service dog programs use specific breeds, Kowalski said any dog has the capacity to serve.
“A dog must be comfortable with a stranger handling it, not afraid of loud noises, or a tug on the tail,” she said. “If a dog’s growling at me, we’re done. The few dogs that don’t make it usually fail because of problems with people.”
Faithfully K9 trainers work for about a year with each owner/dog pair, typically training in the client’s home and community. Their clients’ range extends from Broomfield south to Castle Rock, and Aurora west to Conifer. Clients from outside those areas also travel to train with the team.
Saved by a dog
Fort Lupton resident Gabriel Griego is among those clients who felt he had run out of time. The former Marine was medically discharged from the service after suffering an injury. He said he was diagnosed with PTSD stemming in part from childhood and sexual trauma, and struggled with substance abuse. Griego tried multiple medications, but could not shake his dark thoughts and feelings.
“I always joked I took every pill imaginable,” he said. “Half of them made me more suicidal. A lot of it just didn’t work for me and continued to make me feel worse. After my last suicide attempt in 2022, my wife said, ‘We need to figure something out.’”
Griego learned about Faithfully K9 through WarriorNOW, a nonprofit aimed at helping veterans with mental health and other challenges. Kowalski helped him find Nala, a lab/mastiff mix who is now a year-and-a-half old. The two began training together when Nala was a puppy.
The change in Griego’s quality of life has been dramatic. With Nala at his side, his previous struggles with loud noise, crowds and people approaching him from behind have eased. Depression still haunts him, but when it descends, Nala is a warm and soothing presence.
“A year and a month into the training, there are days where it’s still difficult,” he said. “Nala is the one who pulls me out of those days. And the different training we do connects me back to myself and to Nala, and calms me down.
“She also helps my wife because Nala realizes when I’m going through a funk,” he said. “She’ll lay on me and just stare at my wife, like she’s saying ‘It’s OK, I got him.’ I’ve put my wife through so much with all the mental health stuff; I’m so grateful that now she can take that breather.”
Griego has also been substance free for two years, which he credits in large part to the help Faithfully K9 has provided.
“I was shocked by everything they do for veterans and first responders — something so truly life saving at absolutely no cost to us,” he said. “Every veteran I know, we don’t stop fighting. The reason so many of us succumb to suicide is we just want the pain to end.
“There are so many people like me that have gone down these dark paths who I hope can stop trying to end their pain in a different way,” he continued. “Instead, hang out with a four-legged best friend all day. Things will be a little bit more ok.”
Griego is now working with Suicide Prevention Coaliton of Colorado, where he is focused on helping veterans. And in imitation of her owner, Nala is also extending her reach to help others.
“I take Nala into some of my meetings,” he said. “She’s awesome at picking up on the needs of other people. You see her tail wagging because she’s so excited to help anyone she can.”
Training for success
Kowalski and her team train dogs in the owner’s homes, and in public. The dogs must learn to ignore distractions — like food, crowds, other dogs and enthusiastic children — and keep the focus on their owner. That makes shopping centers like the Castle Rock Factory Outlets ideal.
Kowalski recently met there with Colorado Springs client Levi Francis, and his six-month goldendoodle Finn. Francis suffered both mental and physical trauma while serving in the military and in childhood. Due to an injury, he also has screws in his feet that make it tough for him to balance.
Francis had been searching for a support dog since 2021 with no success. Other agencies turned down his request for a variety of reasons. Because Francis and his wife foster a variety of animals with disabilities, one said the environment would be too chaotic for training a service dog.
Faithfully K9 saw it differently. Kowalski said “yes” to Francis’ request, and a nonprofit for which Francis volunteers led him to Finn.
At six months, Finn is tall and broad, and uncharacteristically calm for his age. His copper curls and teddy-bear features draw the attention of children and adults alike, but Finn is nearly unwavering in his focus — which is Francis.
“He’s a giant, dopey, lovable dude,” Francis said. “Our ferrets sleep next to him. He fits in perfectly with our family. We’re training really fast. Overall, he’s pretty amazing. Off leash, he acts like a puppy. In training, he’s always listening.”
Like Nala, Finn has learned to sit or stand between Francis’ legs on command, a posture that allows Francis to physically connect with the dog, diverting his focus from any fears or anxiety-inducing distractions. Because of his size, Finn also helps his owner with balance issues resulting from the screws in his feet.
He’s an ideal helpmate for Francis, whose hypervigilance and triggers are slowly easing.
“I’ve been able to go out a lot more,” he said. “I’m being less watchful just because he distracts me. My wife was surprised the other day because I offered to go to the movies. He’s a fantastic partner to work with.”
Faithfully K9 has a thick book of similar success stories. It also has far more demand for services than resources to meet it.
“We have over 60 clients we’re working with, and I have more people calling me every day,” Kowalski said. “We have dogs working with therapists and psychiatrists in schools. We do skilled companions for first responders. We work with a lot of firefighters and police officers. We are always struggling to find donations.”
Despite those ongoing struggles, Kowalski is tireless in her mission. For her, it is a calling.
“I do this to help people,” she said. “I believe that’s why we’re here on this planet. Just making a difference in one person’s life is worth it.”
For more information or to donate, visit faithfullyk9.com.