OVERVIEW
Zebra K9’s safety dogs help to ensure student safety and mental health.
ABOUT
Zebra K9 provides firearm, explosives, vape, and narcotics detection safety dog team services to K-12 school districts.
High-Impact Social Mission (with Real-World Urgency)
- Clear, urgent need: School shootings and violent incidents have become tragically common. Our safety dog teams provide tangible, life-saving outcomes. Student vaping has become a major health concern. Our safety dog teams provide tangible outcomes.
- ESG and impact investing: Zebra K9 aligns with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria—particularly the “S” as our canines are highly social and provide social / emotional support to students, teachers, and administrators.
- PR and brand value: Sponsors can benefit from association with a mission that demonstrates social responsibility and public service.
Early Entry into an Expanding Market
- K9 detection services for schools represent a specialized, underpenetrated market.
- Uncertain federal and state-level funding for school safety and mental health concerns create need for individual, corporate, and foundation support to ensure safety dog services can continue to grow.
Differentiation Through Proactive Prevention
- Not just response—prevention and deterrence: Unlike reactive technology-based solutions, our K9 teams are proactive, non-lethal, and non-disruptive. This lowers liability, increases community trust, and enhances institutional reputation.
Backed by Science
- Children who had interactions with dogs experienced a 55% increase in social behaviors, including initializing conversations and sharing.
- Students in classrooms with dog visits experienced a 45% decrease in disruptive behavior over six months and 30% were more likely to participate in class activities.
PROBLEM
Zebra K9’s safety dog teams address two major issues facing K-12 school districts – the rise in gun violence and the mental health crisis.
From 2020 to 2024 there have been 1,362 shootings and 104 so far in 2025. In that same period the mental health crisis in K–12 schools across the United States has intensified. In 2023, 42% of high school students reported experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
OPPORTUNITY
As of 2024, the U.S. K-12 school safety market is valued at approximately $12.5 billion, encompassing various security measures such as surveillance systems, access control, emergency communication, and cybersecurity. This market is projected to grow to approximately $26 billion by 2033, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8%.
As of 2025, there is no publicly available data specifying the exact market size for firearm detection dog services in U.S. K–12 schools. However, there are 13,318 K-12 school districts in the United States. At an average cost of $91,000 per safety dog team per district represents a $1.2 billion market.
Zebra K9’s addressable market is $209 million encompassing 2,298 K-12 school districts in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois.
Zebra K9 primarily competes with technology companies for budget dollars. The technologies include weapons detection systems, AI-based video surveillance, and emergency communication systems.
Zebra K9’s closest competitor in the K-12 market is Global K9 Protection Group, Opelika, Alabama. Their Paws on Patrol program is a public / private partnership between a school district and local law enforcement. Zebra K9’s strategic advantage is focus. Global’s Paws on Patrol program is primarily a public relations initiative while their market focus is air cargo screening.
OUR SOLUTION
Zebra K9 has provided firearm detection safety dog team services since its inception in July 2023.
We sign single to multi-year contracts assigning a dedicated team or teams to a school district. The contracts are hourly service agreements based on a 175-day, 8 hour per day, school year.
Our safety dog teams are at school every hour that the students are there. In some districts the safety dog team stays at the high school the entire day, at others the team rotates between the high, middle, and elementary schools. In districts where the team rotates between schools a random schedule is created so the team is not in the same location at the same time every day.
Zebra K9 is also contracted to participate in after school events ranging from sporting events to parent-teacher conferences, dances, and commencement ceremonies.
OUR TRACTION
Zebra K9 currently has 8 school districts under contract ranging from one to three-year agreements at an annual contract value of $88,400 per safety dog team. Some districts employ more than one team.
Our retention rate is 100%
School districts receive two benefits from Zebar K9’s safety dog teams – increased safety and mental health as evidenced by the following testimonials.
“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.”
- Williamston Community Schools Parent
” Lakeview has seen the safety dog teams having a positive impact. Students are thinking twice before bringing anything illegal to school. Administration, faculty, students, and parents said that they feel safer, and appreciate the safety dog teams being regularly present in the schools.”
- Karl Paulson, Lakeview Public Schools Superintendent
“Fortunately, with the K9 teams onsite, we have not had any instances of weapons found. 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 Bognar, Van Dyke Public Schools Superintendent
Zebra K9 has received great press coverage and 3rd party endorsements from industry leading consultants like Mike Matranga, M6 Global in the K-12 security space. During a podcast with Mr. Matranga, he stated that safety dog teams are more effective than any of the school safety technologies on the market today.
OUR TEAM
Zebra K9’s leadership team has the demonstrated business and industry experience to grow the company into the nation’s leading provider of safety dog teams to the K-12 market.
Greg Guidice, Founder and CEO
Greg is responsible for the overall strategic direction and execution of Zebra K9’s mission to provide superior K9 teams to protect people in the communities where they live, work, and play.
Previously, Greg was the Founder, President and CEO of Elite Detection K9 (EDK9), a non-profit company that bred, raised, and trained American-bred Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds for explosives detection. Greg was responsible for the company’s overall strategic direction including partnerships with Johns Hopkins University, the AKC Patriot Puppy Program, and its K-12 school, hospital, and event clients.
Greg has spent his career as an entrepreneur and innovator starting companies ranging from RazorThreat, Inc., a cyber security software company specializing in “insider” threats to SilverCube, Inc., a pioneer in wireless content delivery and integrated digital media.
Prior to establishing SilverCube, Greg accumulated more than 15 years of experience in executive strategic planning, sales, marketing, and product development roles.
Ric Hetu, Vice President of Canine Operations,
Ric leads Zebra K9’s training academy for canines and handlers managing the ongoing training, evaluation, and certifications of nationally recognized detection K9 teams.
Ric is a retired Michigan State Police Canine Unit Commander with three decades of experience as a canine handler and canine trainer. He is a member and master trainer for the National Association of Professional Canine Handlers (NAPCH) in the following canine disciplines: explosive, narcotic, accelerant, cadaver, and tracking.
Ric’s comprehensive knowledge of “best practice” training techniques is respected nationally and our clients benefit from his expertise.
Pat McNeely, Director of Canine Operations
Pat is responsible for the day-to-day interaction with our school safety dog teams and clients and assists Ric in the training, odor imprinting, and deployment of our certified detection dog teams. Pat is also responsible for K9 team security at events held at small to large-scale venues including stadiums, amphitheaters, and festival grounds. He is a member and trainer for the National Association of Professional Canine Handlers (NAPCH) in the following canine disciplines: explosive, narcotic.
Pat served as a Michigan State Police (MSP) trooper for 28 years, the last 13 as a K9 Handler. While at MSP, he was a K9 handler/trainer in the following disciplines: explosives and narcotics detection, tracking, area searches, building searches, and article searches.
USE OF FUNDS
Zebra K9 will use the funds to purchase and train canines in firearm/explosives or vape/narcotics detection. The funds will also be used to pay handlers salary and lodging while attending the Zebra K9 training academy.
LET'S WORK TOGETHER
Your support of Zebra K9 will help us provide more school districts with the lifesaving services our safety dog teams provide.
There is no more important investment than the safety and mental health of our school age children.
Let’s work together to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment for all children.