The Firehouse Project is a partnership between the nonprofit Thor’s Hope Foundation, which privately funds the cost and training of our facility dogs, and, Performance K9 Training, which trains the dogs. While these working K9s offer therapeutic benefits, they are facility dogs that have undergone hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of training.

The Firehouse Project was launched in 2019 after discovering how the number of suicides for our firefighters exceeded the number of line-of-duty deaths. The Firehouse Project helps with the occupational stresses that our firefighters face every day with the aid of a facility dog. In addition to unprecedented wildfire seasons and first responder high call volumes, our firefighters’ mental and physical health reached critical levels during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

These facility dogs are gifted to our Fire Department’s peer support programs and recipients have included the Vista Fire Department; Los Angeles County Fire Department; Modesto Fire; San Fransisco Fire Department; Palm Springs Fire Department; Orange County Fire Authority; and, the US Coast Guard. Applications accepted and future dogs to be placed will be given to Los Angeles County Lifeguard, Palm Springs Police Department, Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Authority, Gilroy Fire Department and Stockton Fire Department.

We invite you to learn more about The Firehouse Project through our media coverage. In the meantime, enjoy the gallery of our peer support dogs who do so much for the men and women who take care of us during the most difficult of times.