11th Annual K9 Veterans Day Recognition Scheduled for
March 9, 2025
Wisconsin’s 11th annual K9 Veterans Day celebration will be held Sunday, March 9, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. at the American Legion Banquet Center, 201 S. Water Street, E., Fort Atkinson. The public is cordially invited to attend this event.
The keynote speaker will be Jim Pacetti, who dedicated 30 years of service to the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department, spending the final 25 years as a K9 handler and trainer providing training and guidance to hundreds of canine handlers in Cook County and across the country. (For more information about Jim Pacetti, scroll down this page.)
The K9 Veterans Day program will also include recognition of The Operational K9 Medical Team of Wisconsin which was founded in 2020 to provide education and support to law enforcement officers and other first responders assisting operational K9s wounded in the line of duty.
Fallen K9s will be honored and attending veteran and current canine handlers, along with their partners, will be recognized.
At 12:30 p.m., there will be a brief wreath-laying ceremony in McCoy Park at the site of the K9 Veterans Memorial to honor K9 Seato and his handler Marine Lance Corporal Terry Beck who were killed in action in December 1967. The wreath will be placed by retired U.S. Army Sergeant Michael Fletcher, who was recently reunited with his K9 partner, Dasty.
Immediately after the wreath-laying, participants will move to the ceremony at the American Legion.
The annual K9 Veterans Day ceremony is sponsored by The Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson, following the successful 2015 campaign for passage of the K9 Veterans Day proclamation by the Wisconsin Legislature. This proclamation created a day to remember and honor military working dogs, police dogs, customs dogs, search and rescue dogs, border patrol dogs, arson dogs and secret service dogs that protect and serve our nation.
The Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson, Inc. is a non-profit organization of volunteers offering training classes, education, and community service.
Click the following link for the printable poster:
Invitation 2025
More info about the 2025 keynote speaker, Jim Pacetti,
K9 Handler and Trainer for Cook County, Illinois
Jim Pacetti dedicated 30 years of service to the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department before retiring. His career began at the Cook County Department of Corrections, after which he was promoted to the Cook County Sheriff’s Police. He served in the patrol division and later advanced to the Gang Crimes Narcotics Unit. For the final 25 years of his career, he had the privilege of working as a canine handler and trainer within the canine unit. During this time, he handled a German Shepherd (Arno) and a Malinois (Amber) for dual-purpose patrol work, a Bloodhound (Melanie) for man-trailing, and a Wirehaired Vizsla (Tanner) for narcotics detection.
Pacetti takes immense pride in having provided training and guidance to hundreds of canine handlers locally and across the country. It was an honor for him to offer canine services to thousands of law enforcement agencies, ranging from local municipalities to federal agencies.
Pacetti summarizes his time as a K9 handler, saying, “Being a canine handler was the best job I could have ever asked for, made even better by having the absolute best partners anyone could ever have in their life.”
K9 Veterans Day 2024
Our featured speaker will be Jerry Witt, U.S. Army Sergeant and 
Scout Dog Handler, who served in Vietnam in the late 1960s. Together with his scout dog, Jerry led patrols of infantry through jungles ahead of the main troops. One of his dogs made the ultimate sacrifice when he alerted on a booby trap from which he was unable to escape.
View a plaque presented to Jerry Witt at last year’s ceremony:
FINAL – Plaque – Jerry Witt
The recipient of the inaugural Terry Beck Protective Services scholarship will also be recognized as he pursues a career in fire protection.
Also honored will be fallen K9s from the past year and retiring working K9s. All K9 handlers—active and retired—in attendance will be recognized. All K9s in attendance will also receive a special treat.
Prior to the event at the American Legion, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the K9 Veterans Memorial in Fort Atkinson’s McCoy Park at 12:30 p.m. Immediately following that, participants will gather at the American Legion.
McCoy Park is located at 1100 Old Madison Road (across from Salamone’s Italian Pizzeria, 1245 Madison Avenue) and the American Legion Banquet Center is located at 201 S. Water Street East, both in Fort Atkinson, WI.
Please join us on March 10 to honor all working K9s and their handlers for their public service.
FortAtkinsonOnline.com coverage:
Vietnam veteran, K-9 handler Jerry Witt to speak at 10th Annual K-9 Veterans Day observance
FortAtkinsonOnline.com feature:
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Sunday, March 12, 2023
Please plan to join us for Wisconsin’s 9th Annual K9 Veterans Day ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, at the American Legion Banquet Center in Fort Atkinson!
KEYNOTE SPEAKER 
This year’s program will be exciting. Our featured speaker is SGM Viridiana Lavalle, Office of the Provost Marshal General, U.S. Army Military Working Dog Program Manager, and an experienced veteran K9 handler.
Link to 3-minute video — Why I Serve: Provost Marshal Sergeant Major Lavalle
PROGRAM
We will honor the K9 handlers and their K9 partners who appeared on Wisconsin’s Assembly when March 13 was officially proclaimed K9 Veterans Day in 2015.
The recipient of the inaugural Terry Beck Protective Services scholarship will be recognized as he continues to pursue his degree in fire protection.
Also honored will be fallen K9s from the past year and retiring working K9s. All K9 handlers—active and retired—in attendance will be recognized. All K9s in attendance will also receive a special treat.
WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY
Prior to the event at the American Legion location, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the K9 Veterans Memorial in Fort Atkinson’s McCoy Park at 12:30 p.m. Immediately following that, participants will gather at the American Legion.
McCoy Park is located at 1100 Old Madison Road (across from Salamone’s Italian Pizzeria, 1245 Madison Avenue) and the American Legion Banquet Center is located at 201 S. Water Street East, both in Fort Atkinson, WI.
HOTEL RESERVATIONS
A block of 15 rooms has been reserved at Fort Atkinson’s Holiday Inn Express for the nights of March 10th, 11th, and 12th. Special rates apply and there will be an additional charge for guests with canines.
Link to Holiday Inn Express reservation information
Link to Jan. 27, 2023 article on FortAtkinsonOnline.com
Link to Mar. 8, 2023 article on FortAtkinsonOnline.com
Click here to view the PDF of the invitation to the 2023 K9 Veterans Day Program
Terry Beck Memorial Scholarship
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History of K9 Veterans Day Commemorations
The 2022 K9 Veterans Day celebration is scheduled for Sunday, March 13.
Please plan to join us for Wisconsin’s 8th Annual K9 Veterans Day ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 13, at the American Legion Banquet Center in Fort Atkinson!
Our featured speaker is John Meeks—veteran K9 handler, bronze star recipient, and Executive Director of the U.S. War Dogs Association, Chapter 3.
We will also honor Riggs (with his handler Deputy Terry Tifft), the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department K9 who was shot in the line of duty.
Also honored will be fallen K9s from the past year and retiring working K9s. All K9 handlers—active and retired—in attendance will be recognized. All K9s in attendance will also receive a special treat.
An announcement about the Terry Beck Protective Services Scholarship fund will also be made.
Prior to the event at the American Legion location, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the K9 Veterans Memorial in Fort Atkinson’s McCoy Park at 12:30 p.m. Immediately following that, participants will gather at the American Legion.
If you love working K9s and if you want to honor them and their handlers, we encourage you to join us for this special event!
McCoy Park is located at 1100 Old Madison Road (across from Salamone’s Italian Pizzeria, 1245 Madison Avenue) and the American Legion Banquet Center is located at 201 S. Water Street East, both in Fort Atkinson, WI.
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Check out the press coverage for the 6th Annual K9 Veterans Day celebration held Sunday, March 8, 2020. There is a link to a pdf of the Daily Union article, and links to the Milton Courier shown below.
K9 Vets Day article Daily Union 3.10.2020
http://www.hngnews.com/milton_courier/article_85508be7-445c-5e67-b933-0599b3a9b303.html
http://www.hngnews.com/milton_courier/article_9e3d918a-1bff-5e62-a704-5756c96df2fa.html
The following 33-photo album is on the Milton Courier site:
http://www.hngnews.com/milton_courier/collection_e3935c89-6fed-5411-9df2-bdbde19eb8aa.html
The 2020 Observance of K9 Veterans Day will be Sunday, March 8, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., at the American Legion, 201 S Water Street E, in Fort Atkinson. Ron Werneth, military historian and critically acclaimed author, will be the featured speaker.
Following the observance at the Legion, there will be a wreath placed at the K9 Veterans Memorial at McCoy Park on Madison Avenue.
The public is invited to participate as we honor our K9 heroes. For more details, click the link to the invitation. 2020 – Invitation
National Recognition
March 13, 1942, is the official birthday of the United States K9 Corps. In 2009, the late Joseph White, retired military dog handler, began the effort to honor military and working dogs by proclaiming March 13 as K9 Veterans Day.
Following Joe White’s leadership, there is a national effort to establish March 13 as K9 Veterans Day. Several states have already taken that step. Our goal is to have March 13 proclaimed as national K9 Veterans Day, similar to our current Veterans Day.
K9 Veterans Day is intended to honor military dogs as well as those working with police, customs, border patrol, service, therapy and other working dogs whose mission it is to protect and serve the homeland and people within it.
Working dogs are commended for their loyalty and devotion and are known for placing themselves in harm’s way even to the point of making the ultimate sacrifice for their partners, handlers, and trainers.
Please consider supporting our cause.
Contact your representatives:
K9 Veterans Day Brochure (for legislators)
Sign the petition:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/national-k9-veterans-day.html
Collect signatures:
Wisconsin Legislation
They say dogs are man’s best friend, but military and police working dogs are so much more.
From World War 1 to present day, these dogs have laid down their own lives, for our freedom and safety.
They deserve recognition for that faithful service and sacrifice.
– State Representative, Andy Jorgensen
On March 17, 2015, state legislation was passed to declare March 13th as K9 Veterans Day in Wisconsin. KCFA treasurer, Mabel Schumacher, was in attendance for the passing of the legislation.
- K9 Veterans Day – 2015 State Assembly Joint Resolution
- State Representative, Andy Jorgensen – Press Release – March 17, 2015
While the legislation was not passed in time to officially celebrate K9 Veterans Day in Wisconsin for 2015, a gathering was held in Fort Atkinson, WI, to observe the holiday. Attendees included State Senator Steve Nass, State Representative Andy Jorgensen, State Representative Cody Horlacher, and retired military handler, Jerry Witt.
