Debbie Johnson (Supporting K9 Programs, Treated Wounded Dogs and End of Life Planning) - Episode 1235
Behind The Shield
James Geering
4.9 • 695 Ratings
🗓️ 3 May 2026
⏱️ 94 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Debbie Johnson is a financial professional and a dedicated nonprofit leader with a profound passion for supporting law enforcement K9 units. Her journey into advocacy began following the tragic death of St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office K9 Baron in 2015, which inspired her to invest significant time and resources to understand the unique needs of these heroic dogs.
Driven by her newfound appreciation for K9 units, Debbie founded K9s United, a nonprofit organization committed to advocating for, honoring and supporting America’s law enforcement K9s. Under her passionate leadership, K9s United and its devoted team work tirelessly to ensure the needs of working K9s are met. Since its inception, K9s United has donated over $2.0 million in equipment and training to more than 1,500 K9 officers and paramedics for these noble dogs in more than 46 states across the nation.
K9s United provides advanced training, including canine first aid, and Debbie has been instrumental in passing Alabama and Florida legislation aimed at protecting and serving law enforcement K9s. Her belief that every working dog in the nation should be protected and advocated for fuels her efforts to champion similar bills at the federal level, including the LEO K9 Protection Act, which was introduced in July.
Beyond her full-time career and her mission with K9s United, Debbie is also a devoted mother to her daughter Emma and a loving wife to her husband BJ. She shares her home with three dogs: Gunnar, Shelby and Homer.
Through her unwavering dedication, Debbie Johnson continues to champion the cause of law enforcement K9 units, ensuring they receive the training and recognition they deserve.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode is sponsored by a company who has truly found a solution to an age-old problem, |
| 0:05.0 | and that is KarnerBunker Gear. |
| 0:07.5 | One of the most prevalent conversations in the fire service is should we or should we not |
| 0:12.5 | train in our bunker gear? |
| 0:14.5 | Now, the answer to both is yes. |
| 0:17.0 | As most of us are aware, the carcinogens from structure fires of which there are over 260 that are dangerous to human health, not to mention the PFAS and other chemicals that are within our gear from the manufacturing process are factors that we obviously want to minimize. |
| 0:33.5 | Now, the other side of the coin is that we do need to train in our gear. |
| 0:37.4 | There is no way to acclimatize the heat retention and lack of mobility than to actually wear the gear. |
| 0:43.3 | So seeing this problem himself, firefighter and exercise physiologist Ryan Conley developed a carcinogen-free gear at a much lower cost that can be used in non-IDLH atmosphere and training that does not |
| 0:57.3 | require puncture or tear resistance. Now as someone who always trained in gear myself throughout my |
| 1:03.0 | career, I wish this technology was around then. And I got to test it personally while coaching my |
| 1:08.9 | tactical athlete class a few weeks ago and can testify that |
| 1:12.7 | it not only simulates the heat retention of frontline gear, but also the lack of mobility, |
| 1:18.7 | which is imperative at operating at a high level on the fireground. Now, some additional benefits |
| 1:23.9 | include being able to doff the gear when you do get banged out for a call, |
| 1:28.7 | increasing the lifespan of your frontline bunker gear, and then also public education. |
| 1:34.0 | Think of the number of times that we allow, for example, school children to wear our gear |
| 1:38.2 | when it's infused with all these carcinogens. |
| 1:41.6 | So there are so many real-world applications for a fraction of the cost |
| 1:46.1 | of IDLH-rated bunker gear. So if you want to hear the whole story behind this, listen to my |
| 1:52.2 | conversation with Ryan Conley on episode 1175 of the Behind the Shield podcast, or go to |
| 1:59.4 | karnerbunkergear.com. Welcome to the Behind a Shield podcast or go to carna bunkergear.com. |
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