The Montville-based nonprofit provides retired police K9s and current K9 teams with the care, resources and recognition they deserve.
MONTVILLE, Conn. — On one of the worst nights of her life, a Montville woman encountered a friend who would change her life’s course.
Krista Smith is the founder of the nonprofit charity Harlows Heroes, which honors the service of retired police K9s by providing them with the care, resources and recognition that they deserve.
Years ago, Smith was in an abusive relationship and was forced to call Montville police one evening when K9 Barrett, the town’s first patrol dog, and his handler arrived and removed her from the situation. Smith felt forever indebted to the K9 team that was there for her in a difficult moment.
Smith was not the only Montville resident who was infatuated with K9 Barrett. She described the impact he had on the town.
“K9 Barret was everybody’s police dog,” Smith said. “He was at summer camps, he would do demos at the schools, he would be at the local farmers’ markets… The pride people would feel over K9 Barrett; the whole town gleamed over this dog.”
Sadly, in 2021, K9 Barrett was attempting to apprehend a suspect when that individual struck him in the head and face repeatedly. Due to the trauma, K9 Barrett developed a brain bleed, which led to seizures. Remembering how K9 Barrett helped her, Smith knew that she had to support her friend.
Smith began organizing Harlows Heroes in the spring of 2023 with the intention of helping K9 Barrett lead a comfortable life in retirement. Several weeks later, however, K9 Barrett was given a fatal diagnosis, as his brain bleed increased in size. K9 Barrett lost his life on June 1, 2023, but Smith did not stop. With her newly established nonprofit, she sought to make a difference in the lives of other police K9s who served the town valiantly.
“These dogs devote their entire lives to protecting us and serving our community,” Smith said. “I wanted to do something to give back to these animals that were there at such a pivotal moment for me, and I wanted to do anything I could to protect them and be a resource for them since they were there for me when I was in such a kind of difficult moment in my life. I wanted to give back and make sure they are taken care of.”
Harlows Heroes provides retired police K9s with medical care, palliative care and humane euthanasia when that time arrives. The nonprofit also provides them with nutritional support and toys and treats for mental stimulation.
“Depending on the type of dog it is, these dogs can be very high-drive dogs. When they retire, their brain doesn’t necessarily retire, so they need those toys or those treats to kind of provide that mental stimulation because they’re used to going to work every day,” Smith said.
In addition to providing resources and outreach, Smith cares for three retired police K9s through Harlows Heroes and is in the process of accepting a first. She said she chooses the dogs she cares for based on their medical needs; a screening process and scoring system are used to determine which animals are the highest priority.
Harlows Heroes also works with a vet partner, who helps keep the dogs comfortable.
While the mission was always to care for retired police K9s, Smith said Harlows Heroes expanded its focus to photographing police K9s of all ages during the different stages of their careers. Smith said Connecticut State Police currently certifies 96 patrol dogs, and she hopes to photograph all of them.
“I wanted a way to give back and wanted to be able to take pictures of these animals and to be able to offer free shoots to the handlers and their dogs, and we were able to offer that. I didn’t realize how passionate I would be about doing that,” Smith said.
Speaking with K9 handlers, Smith has been encouraged to continue pursuing the project. She said the officers are welcoming and say she is helping tell their stories; many of them have never been photographed with their K9s.
“I realized we are really kind of preserving memories for these handlers and for the future, so we came up with a project to photograph every single dog that is certified under the Connecticut State Police,” Smith said.
Smith connected her photography to the mission of Harlows Heroes, noting that the dogs aren’t retired yet, but they will be. She said the photo shoots help further the nonprofit’s reach in the community and put an emphasis on the importance of caring for the dogs throughout their entire careers.
Launching a nonprofit has been an incredible and exciting experience for Smith. Her goal is to help as many dogs and handlers as possible.
“If you’re a K9 handler, setting up a shoot with us is a huge way that we can continue our outreach,” Smith said.
In just over a year, Harlows Heroes has accomplished a lot. Smith can’t wait to see how it all looks a year from now.
“I never in my wildest dreams imagined we could be where we are right now with the outreach we’ve had, the people and dogs that we’ve met and the places we’ve traveled to,” Smith said. “It’s really cool that our reach is expanding, and I’m excited to see what we’re able to accomplish in the future and continue.”
To donate to Harlows Heroes, one can click here.
Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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