Schools

School Safety Dog Teams

Our full-time Safety Dog Teams provide both proactive protection and emotional support in K–12 schools. Specially trained in firearm, explosives, narcotics, and vape detection, these highly skilled mobile teams serve as a powerful deterrent while offering comfort and peace of mind—helping keep students, staff, and entire school communities safe.

Benefits of Our Teams:

  • Mobile patrols: backpacks, lockers, restrooms, gyms, bleachers, and school grounds

  • Visual and word-of-mouth deterrent

  • Social and emotional support when not actively searching

  • Peace-of-mind to the entire school community

  • Safety and support for sporting and social events

  • Seamless collaboration with school resource officers, campus security, and local law enforcement

Nationally-Certified Teams You Can Trust

Zebra K9 dogs are certified by the National Association of Professional Canine Handlers and trained using live explosive materials under an ATF-issued license. This training approach ensures they can detect real-world threats with accuracy and care.

It Makes More Sense

Firearms and Explosives Detection

Our full-time Firearms and Explosives Detection Safety Dog Teams help keep students, faculty, and administrators safe, so schools can stay focused on what matters most: providing a quality education.

These highly trained canine teams support school safety by:

  • Monitoring entrances as students and guests arrive

  • Monitoring hallways between class periods

  • Inspecting backpacks, lockers, classrooms, bathrooms, and common areas for firearms, ammunition, explosives, and fireworks

Zebra K9’s canines are certified to detect a wide range of threats, including: ammonium nitrate, RDX, potassium chlorate, water gels, TNT, dynamite, black/smokeless powder, TATP, PETN, HMTD, firearms, ammunition, spent casings, and gun cleaning solvents.

As a licensed partner of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Zebra K9 is authorized to train using live explosive materials. This allows us to develop canines with purposeful detection skills tailored specifically to the school environment.

Vape Detection

Zebra K9 provides schools with a proactive, mobile, and highly visible deterrent to reduce the presence of vape devices on campus—creating a safer, healthier learning environment for students and staff.

Our specialized vape-detection safety dog teams are trained to detect liquid nicotine and liquid THC. These are the primary substances found in e-cigarettes and vape products commonly used by students.

The prevalence of vaping in schools has become a growing concern. According to the CDC’s 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, more than 2.1 million middle and high school students in the U.S. currently use e-cigarettes, making them the most used tobacco product among youth. That includes 1.56 million high school students and 550,000 middle school students.

Zebra K9’s vape detection safety dog teams offer schools an effective, non-invasive solution. Their consistent presence discourages use, reinforces school policy, and supports students in making healthier choices.

Real-World Impact

Lakeview Public Schools in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, has seen a 20% reduction in both THC and nicotine vape devices since implementing a full-time Zebra K9 vape detection safety dog team at its middle and high schools.

Drug Detection

Drug use and distribution on school grounds remains a serious concern. According to recent statistics, nearly 1 in 5 high school students in the U.S. have been offered, sold, or given drugs while on school property.

Zebra K9’s Drug Detection Safety Dog Teams offer schools a proactive and discreet solution to deter drug use and prevent dangerous substances from circulating among students.

Our nationally certified canines are trained to detect:

  • Marijuana

  • Fentanyl

  • Heroin

  • Cocaine

  • MDMA (ecstasy)

  • Methamphetamines

Detection services are available during school hours and after-school events such as dances, athletic games, and other gatherings, ensuring a safe, drug-free environment throughout the school community.

Benefits Beyond Security

While Zebra K9 teams are best known for their detection capabilities, their presence in schools goes far beyond security.

Our Safety Dog Teams contribute to a supportive, student-centered environment by:

  • Providing a calming presence during high-stress moments

  • Helping de-escalate situations involving students in crisis

  • Visiting special education classrooms for therapeutic engagement

  • Escorting students to the office or nurse in emotionally sensitive situations

  • Offering a consistent, friendly presence that builds trust and approachability

Safety dogs don’t just protect. They comfort, connect, and care. Their positive impact on school climate is something administrators, teachers, and students feel every day.

A Community Approach to Safety

Not every school district has the resources to fund a Safety Dog Team. That’s why Zebra K9 partners with individuals, businesses, and foundations to expand access to our services across districts of all sizes.

The need is urgent and growing:

  • From 2020 to 2024, there were 1,362 school shootings in the U.S., with 322 in 2024 alone, the second-highest number on record.

  • In 2023, 42% of high school students reported experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, highlighting the deepening mental health crisis in schools.

Zebra K9 offers a proven solution to both safety and emotional support. Our Safety Dog teams not only detect threats but also create daily opportunities for connection, calm, and care.

Whether you’re a school leader exploring deployment or a community member wanting to help, you can be part of the solution.

Together, we can ensure that school safety isn’t a privilege. It’s a standard.

Testimonials

  • “The Avondale School District is excited about our partnership with Zebra K9, a community partnership that affords a trained K9 team to assimilate within our school culture, adding to not only our school security measures, but also adding a level of socio-emotional benefit for our students. K9 teams are a very non-invasive way to search. Many times, when there are students who are upset or grieving or going through some emotional situation, Lucy [the safety dog] has a calming effect and is used for that purpose.”

    Dr. James Schwarz, Superintendent of Avondale School District

  • “I love the positive presence of this dog team in the school. My child has experienced positive outcomes from interacting with the team and I like knowing that we have preventative measures in place. As a parent, I value it is another layer to safely protecting our kids and a deterrent potentially for any student that might think about making a bad choice.”

    Parent, Williamston Community Schools

  • "Fortunately, with the Zebra K9 teams onsite, we have not had any instances of weapons or explosives found at our school. The teams have been instrumental in helping to regularly check backpacks and lockers, be a visual deterrent to some negative behaviors, and even deescalate situations to bring a calming effect. The emotional support function of the K9 teams is huge. They attend special education classes, provide a calming presence, and add a layer of support for football games, parent-teacher conferences, and other school activities."

    Piper L. Bognar, Superintendent of Van Dyke Public Schools

  • “We’re giving [the students] a negative incentive not to do bad things. Your higher confidence level of getting caught should help you make a better choice, that’s the hope. Lakeview has seen the safety dog teams having a positive impact. Students are thinking twice before bringing anything illegal to school."

    Karl D. Paulson, Superintendent of Lakeview Public Schools

  • “Our Zebra K9 team made an immediate positive impact in our schools. The team has effectively added an additional layer of security to our buildings while establishing meaningful relationships with our community. The safety and social-emotional benefits of the team were validated through community survey data collected at the end of the last school year. Students, staff, and parents noted how important the team was while our district navigated through several serious school safety situations that occurred in neighboring communities.”

    Dr. Adam Spina, Superintendent of Williamston Community Schools

  • “I have witnessed on a number of occasions the social emotional support that Gemini [the safety dog] can provide to our students that are in need. Her keen sense and awareness of what the student needs is amazing. I have also witnessed Gemini detect the firearm of our SRO upon coming into the office. Her detection abilities are a wonderful comfort to the students and staff at WCS.”

    Teacher, Williamston Community Schools

  • "Having a trained munitions dog and handler at our high school helps bring another layer of peace of mind in sending my child to school. It really provides a non-intrusive way to provide for security and the students love the dog as if it is just part of the staff.”

    Parent, Avondale School District