The Logo
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The other day, I was asked by a handler what the safest way to rappel in their Patrol Swat Vest was. The handler was going to be competing on the newest season of America’s Top Dog so they wanted to be sure that their dog would be secure and safe during potential rappelling demonstrations.
“Can you send me a video, so I can see how it’s done?”, the handler asked.
Over the years, handlers have sent in amazing action shots of their dogs doing just about everything. Running, jumping, fast-roping, skydiving, and rappelling too. But when I went to look up video, my database was drawing a blank.
There was only one video I knew of that had a live demonstration of a rappel, but it was old. Like, really old. Would it even be in the database still? On a hunch, I looked it up and there is was.
Our 1998 K9 Storm Promotional Video.
Family business really is just that. You help out where you can, no matter how young or old you are. As a kid, one of my first jobs at the business was to help my Grandpa burn copies of this ‘98 Promotional Video onto CD’s for give-aways at trade shows. Each time a copy was made, the software played a sped up rendition on the computer. I had probably seen this video over a thousand times.
I watched the short video on my computer today, and couldn’t help but marvel at how relevant it is, even 22 years later. Need to track, search, rappel, extract, or apprehend? The original K9 Storm dogs were doing it all with a vest that weighed close to double what it does today. They worked in them every shift, no exceptions.
The rappelling portion is particularly impressive too. Simply hook up to your dog’s patented load bearing v-ring and scale down the building with their body in-between your legs for ultimate control. To see something used exactly how it is designed is a thing of beauty.
As the opening montage began to play, I quickly realized how forgotten this part of our company history truly was. It’s easy to get caught up in where you are trying to go, and even easier to completely forget why you are trying to get there in the first place.
For us, the inspiration for our work is shown directly in the creation of our logo that is placed on every piece of equipment we make.
So what inspired it?
The answer becomes clear after watching the original promotional video. Take a journey back in time to see how Jim’s need to protect his own police dog, Olaf, turned into a desire to protect as many dogs as possible.