Manitoba Chamber of Commerce
Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/1120525
24 SPRING 2019 BY LINDSEY WARD P olice officers can't enter the line of duty without proper protective gear. But what about their dogs? That's the question former Winnipeg Police Canine Handler Jim Slater asked back in 1996, after he and his service dog Olaf were involved in the Headingley Jail riot. Olaf had faced great danger because he didn't have a proper bulletproof vest — and Slater couldn't let his faithful sidekick answer future calls unprotected. So he went to work making a Swat vest for Olaf. Using his own ballistic panels and a home sewing machine, he stitched together his first custom service dog vest. He didn't know at the time that it would be the first of many. "Dogs are very expensive, highly trained assets to the police service," Slater says. "They're high-valued animals. The training process is incredibly long and there's an emotional attachment. There's a need to protect them." Many other dog handlers agreed with Slater, and over the next year enlisted him to make vests for their own four-legged friends. By 1998, his side project had gone from a public service to a booming business. So he formalized his company, K9 Storm Inc. "We had no plans on developing a business, but the demand was there," he says. And it continues to grow. While Olaf has since passed away (after recording over 100 captures in his K9 Storm vest), his Patrol Swat Vest remains a hot seller. That product and the many others K9 Storm Inc. makes – including specialty harnesses, leashes, seat belts, floatation devices and Special Forces skydiving jump kits – are shipped to over 30 countries, and are even worn by U.S. military dogs in Syria and Afghanistan. "We're a custom tailor for the world," Slater says of the many service dogs the company outfits, mostly German shepherds, Dutch shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Labradors. "We send out a sizing kit system to whatever The Slater family (from left): Jim, Glori, Jeff, Meghan, Jessica and Riley, with Brewser and Jettie. Photo by Darcy Finley A DOG'S BEST FRIENDS K9 Storm makes custom gear for service animals — and for family pets K9 STORM INC. CONTINUED >>