Crisis K9’s Glory and Marshall were sworn in at Monday night’s Knoxville City Council meeting. 

Glory and Marshall are currently Crisis K9’s for the Knoxville Fire Department and help with responding to individuals experiencing a crisis situation. Both dogs received their official oaths of office from Mayor Brian Hatch and were sworn in at the meeting. In 2022 Glory’s handler, Battalion EMS Chief for the Knoxville Fire Department Justin Smith took Glory to receive national certification at a national canine facility in Columbus, OH. Glory now helps train other Crisis K9’s and has become nationally recognized. Glory is one of only two fully certified Crisis K9’s in the State of Iowa. 

Mayor Hatch expressed gratitude at the meeting for being able to use Glory and Marshall in the community. The mission of Crisis K9’s is to facilitate and coordinate the implementation of Crisis Response Therapy Dog Teams in first responder agencies, so that these teams may provide Animal Assisted Crisis Response within their communities to support the mental health of individuals affected by and responding to crises and disasters.