When 16-year-old Nic Fontaine of Franklin, MA, received a postcard from an Army recruiter with the promise of a free shirt if he visited their station, he was in. “I’d never thought about joining the military until that moment, but the free swag piqued my interest”, explains Nic, now 44 with an incredible 26 years’ service under his belt.

Joining the US Army’s Military Police cadets in 1996, Nic was quickly exposed to – and impressed by – the work of K-9. “I’d always loved dogs, but seeing what the guys did with them and how incredible they were, really captured my interest. I spoke to my superiors and they said that if I re-enlisted, I could go to K-9 school, so that’s what I did.”

In 2000, Nic began his life in K-9 at Fort Bragg and, following his graduation from K-9 school, was assigned his first duty station in Germany. “I was assigned to narcotics patrol dog, Fenky. She was 12 years-old but was so easy-going. I loved her. When she retired, she came to live with me and we spent a year taking care of her before she passed.”

The stability of life as a military K-9 handler was about to reimagined as 9/11 hit. “Being a peacetime K-9 handler meant that when we went to war, the shift in gear was marked.”

Peace Time is Over

Nic first deployed to Afghanistan in 2003 with the mandate to offer K-9 support to a unit of Navy SEALs. “It was a heck of a learning experience for a young Military Police handler. These guys work differently but once we got to work and spent six months together, we gelled.” 

Nic charges that deployment with changing his whole career path. “I got a taste of working with the cool guys and doing some good stuff with some fantastic mentors”, Nic explains. However, on arriving home, any thoughts of joining Special Operations were put on hold when Nic was approached with a unique opportunity. 

New Mission

The Specialized Search Dog (SSD) Program had been created in response to the threat of IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were killing troops without prejudice, in their droves. The premise of the program was to train dogs off-leash, allowing them to search at distance ahead of units and alerting to the devices before they were able to cause harm.

Nic’s skills as a dog handler were about to be tested in a new way, as he was asked to join the program and help shape it from the ground up. “We were starting from a blank sheet. There were no lesson plans. Our orders were to figure it out. So that’s what we did.”

Early research had taken Army teams to England to observe the training of the British Army’s explosive detection dogs. The collaborative approach and shared learning between the two countries helped to shape the program and produce a pipeline of some of the most highly skilled and successful search dogs the US Military had ever seen.

“Setting up a program of that level of importance and magnitude was a huge personal learning experience. It was also a lot of work – and fraught with problems – but the end result was worth it.”

USASOC

In early 2005 – 18 months into his stint with the SSD program – Nic was contacted to try out for Special Operations. 

“It meant we had to move from Texas to Fort Bragg, NC, within 40 days so I could join the next tranche of training. I don’t think anything can truly prepare a person for the rigors of elite force training. I spent a year on the combat skills course and a further three months of the specialist dog course, which was very different to what I was used to.”

The pace and intensity of the course offered Nic a whole new skillset that was peculiar to anything he had experienced before. “The dynamic pace and the level of difficulty was next level, but I gained a log of tactical knowledge – both of combat and of dog handling – from that orientation. What’s more, I absolutely loved it. No two days at work were the same and that really lit my fire.”

Nic was paired with MWD Mike for his first Afghan deployment with Special Operations. “Mike was one hell of a dog. He could be an ass at times but he was tough.” But Mike’s role with the team was short-lived and some behaviour issues while on missions meant that he needed to be moved into another team. This opened the door for Nic to pair up with a new dog – a partner that would prove to be his kindred.

Pero

The unit carried junior dogs that trained with them while on tour and Pero was part of the contingent. “We’d trained together a lot but when we lost Mike and I was paired with him, it didn’t take long for him to prove himself in a live situation.”

Nic recalls their first mission together being dangerous and frenetic, but Pero came through with lightning precision and dependability. “Under the cover of darkness, Pero engaged the enemy and fulfilled his duties like a pro. I think he felt good with his actions that night. It certainly provided some instant reassurance to me that we were effective together.”

When recalling the things that made Pero special, Nic pauses to articulate his thoughts. “He had a lot of combat highlights but one thing that really stood out was that the guys loved him. He bunked in with us and became extremely sociable. Pero loved laying on the couch and may have been treated to a steak or two on occasion.”

Nic describes Pero as a true force-multiplier. “He approached his tasks with reckless abandon and did whatever it took to get the job done. I witnessed him face down danger and run through fire like a superhero. He was magnificent.

“He made sure those guys made it home to their wives and kids and that made him a true member of the team. He wasn’t just a nose or a set of teeth. He was one of the guys.”

Pero completed five combat deployments with Nic in Special Operations. “There wasn’t much he hadn’t seen or done. He was an experienced fighter and I trusted him with my life – he sure as hell saved it on a countless occasions. There was never any question about what would happen to him when he retired – he was coming home with me.”

Although Pero had spent time in domestic settings while with the teams he served with, navigating home life could have proved a whole new challenge for him. “My daughters were nine and 12 when Pero first came home, so I introduced him to them while he wore a medical muzzle, just in case. But just as I had witnessed in combat, he was the most clear-headed dog I’d ever seen, able to tell the difference between good and bad. He immediately knew the girls and my wife were good guys, and that was that!”

Nic’s wife Kristen even had a Lhasa Apso – a tiny ball of fluff that bounded around the house gleefully. Pero and he made friends and Pero’s latent prey drive remained dormant. “When you see a dog perform the things that we asked of Pero, it’s incredible to see him adopt a soft, gentler pace of life. He didn’t miss the fight – he took to being a pet with such ease, it made my heart swell.”

He didn’t know for sure but Nic believes Pero was nine or ten when he retired. “He was an old war dog, but he came everywhere with us, from camping holidays to BBQs on the beach. Just as he had done during his career, he won hearts and became an integral member of the family.”

Three years into his retirement, Pero began showing signs of ill health. “He had started going blind and was slowing down with old age, but when he started struggling to get up and started falling down, which was most unlike him.” A trip to the vet confirmed that Pero had cancer in his spine, which left Nic with the most heart-breaking decision. 

“The prognosis wasn’t good, and the vet was straight with me. Was I going to keep him alive for me, or do the right thing by him? I took some time and made a mental list of things I wanted to do for him before it was time to say goodbye.”

Nic arranged for his unit to get together with Pero. “We drank beer and whisky and shared war stories of the times Pero had saved us. He had a great send-off from the guys.”

Pero was Nic’s dog of a lifetime. “We were so close and had shared so much together – some of which we were lucky to have walked away from. Even today in my civilian career, I measure every dog to him, but he was a glorious anomaly.”

Transitioning

Nic was paired with a couple of other MWDs after Pero, before moving out of the dog program with a promotion. In April 2022, Nic retired from the US Army after 26 years – 16 of which were spent with Special Operations. 

“My career spanned a 20-year war; I got to work with some incredible dogs and some of the best operators in the US Military. After transitioning away from K-9, I felt my time had come to a close and I was ready for a new challenge… one that involved dogs.”

Four days after retiring, Nic opened KILO III Consulting LLC- his own special operations dog training program, which has taken him around the globe. One of his latest roles was in Africa, where he has helped train the dog teams in their fight against the deadly animal poaching trade. “Working with dogs again has given me such a boost – I love bringing to life my Special Operations training for handlers in a variety of settings.



“My feet haven’t touched the ground since the day I retired, but when there are brief moments of quiet, I think of Pero and the years we spent together. He taught me so much and I hope he’s proud of where I’m at, wherever he is.”