Community All-Stars: K9 Heroes Foundation
BONNEVILLE COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) – A new program in Bonneville County aims to help local students better connect with School Resource Officers. It's called the K9 Heroes Foundation, which uses trained therapy dogs, or crisis canines, to improve emotional well-being for students, staff and school communities.
Strider, a 5-month-old Bernedoodle, is Bonneville County's first therapy K9, who primarily spends most of his time at Thunder Ridge High School. His breed is beneficial to his job because, in nature, Strider is smart, gentle, friendly and hypoallergenic, which will make him more approachable for kids with allergies.
Deputy Nate Downey is Strider's handler. He says not only is the K9 living up to his gig, but also his name. "He's already showing great, great strides in his growth," Deputy Downey says, "And we both are learning together."
Strider was first introduced to Thunder Ridge at the tail end of the 2024-2025 school year. Although the two are still getting used to each other, students are already feeling the impact.
"We have a student who is on the autism spectrum, and he gets spun up real quick... It will take us 45 minutes to an hour to calm him down," Deputy Downey says, "And the student just sat there and pet him for a few minutes and says, 'Alright, I'm ready to go back to class.' It was five minutes, and he was done, good for the rest of the day."
There are plans to bring more therapy dogs to local schools. The K9 Heroes Foundation hopes to expand the program across the region and build a sustainable program that empowers deputies while supporting students.
Local support is already pouring in both from the Bonneville County Sheriff and the Greater Idaho Falls Police Foundation, which has donated a $12,000 grant to expand Strider's training.
Being that the program is new, K9 Heroes Foundation is looking for even more support from the community. They're encouraging people to follow their journey on social media. Those who are able can also donate to keep the program funded in order to purchase and train more K9s.
