K9 Search Medical Detection founder Pete Gifford says there’s no evidence of wrongdoing by the organisation.
Photo: 123RF
K9 Search Medical Detection didn’t show evidence of appropriate record keeping and practices.
Officials highlight risk to public if dogs not trained properly are allowed in public spaces.
K9SMD founder says he’s done nothing wrong and didn’t hand over paperwork as he no longer wanted to train assistance dogs.
Investigations are under way into the training of disability assistance dogs after a Manawatū trainer had its accreditation removed.
K9 Search Medical Detection was dropped from the list of organisations allowed to train such dogs, which have access rights to public places under the Dog Control Act, on 20 December last year.
The dogs can support people with physical disabilities or medical conditions, and have the right to enter spaces such as schools, hospitals, public transport and shops.
The Department of Internal Affairs – which oversees the list of accredited assistance dog trainers – said the Manawatū-based organisation didn’t provide sufficient evidence of appropriate practices and record keeping, including for assessing dogs’ behaviour.
Dogs trained by K9 Search Medical Detection, which were certified as disability assistance dogs before 20 December, are allowed to keep this status.
However, RNZ has been told of complaints about some dogs’ suitability and temperament, and Internal Affairs has confirmed it’s received complaints this year.
K9 Search Medical Detection founder Pete Gifford said there’s no evidence of wrongdoing by the organisation, a registered charity, and that he didn’t provide Internal Affairs with evidence of practices and procedures because he wanted to withdraw from being an accredited assistance dog training provider anyway.
It received accreditation in 2021.
Insufficient evidence of record keeping
Then-local government minister Simeon Brown.
Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Acting on advice from Internal Affairs, then-local government minister Simeon Brown decided to withdraw K9 Search Medical Detection’s accreditation – it was one of just eight organisations listed at the time in what’s known as schedule 5 of the Dog Control Act.
An Internal Affairs spokesperson told RNZ: “Following concerns raised with the department, we sought assurance from Mr Gifford that K9SMD was operating at an appropriate standard.”
But it failed to provide sufficient evidence of: training programmes for clients; sufficient records of support for clients; records of assessments of dogs’ behavioural characteristics; endorsement of K9SMD’s training practices; full files for at least two certified dogs; and copies of receipts with all services or products provided to at least two clients.
The spokesperson said K9 Search Medical Detection still had obligations to support clients for dogs it had provided with disability assistance certifications.
“The department has received some complaints about K9SMD dogs since accreditation was revoked, which we are working through and therefore unable to comment further at this time.”
Concerns have been raised about a K9 Search Medical Detection-trained dog at Massey University’s Palmerston North campus, and a Massey spokesperson said the university was aware of a “student complaint”.
“Due to a thorough investigation currently under way we are unable to comment further at this time.”
‘Awesome for us’
Gifford told RNZ K9 Search Medical Detection no longer wanted to be certified to train disability assistance dogs so didn’t provide Internal Affairs with the documents and records it requested.
It would continue to train companion dogs, but no longer wanted to be part of the “toxic environment” surrounding dogs with public access rights.
“What’s happened has been awesome for us. It’s the best thing that’s happened for us,” he said.
“It seems like we’ve done something wrong, but we haven’t.”
Gifford said K9 Search Medical Detection had the documentation Internal Affairs asked for, but chose not to show it to officials.
He said he’d worked with dogs for 45 years, and the industry was “open to egos”.
Complaints about K9 Search Medical Detection were just allegations and no wrongdoing was proven, he said.
“There’s a difference.”
He asked why, if K9 Search Medical Detection had done anything wrong, dogs it certified before 20 December were allowed to keep that status.
Gifford said he didn’t care what people thought about the situation.
The conversation ended when he hung up on RNZ.
No evidence of robust practices
RNZ has obtained the advice Brown received from Internal Affairs last year.
It said other disability assistance dog trainers had raised concerns about K9 Search Medical Detection, including that it certified under-trained dogs; inappropriately acquired dogs withdrawn from other programmes; provided clients with dogs that didn’t match their needs; and that poorly trained dogs were a risk to their handlers and the public.
Internal Affairs had also received complaints from members of the public, including disabled dog handlers, about Gifford’s conduct.
These complaints included concerns about a lack of training practices and processes; trained dogs not behaving appropriately in public spaces; clients feeling intimidated in their communications with Gifford; legal action to recover costs; and dogs being returned to K9 Search Medical Detection.
Between July 2023 and August 2024 officials told K9 Search Medical Detection about the complaints against it and asked for information from it to show it was operating at the required standard.
Internal Affairs met with Gifford and said it requested information in “reasonable timeframes”.
“In his responses Mr Gifford provided minimal evidence of K9SMD practices and not address the majority of our requests,” it wrote in a briefing for Brown.
“The minimal information provided by K9SMD, which did not contain the majority of what was requested, indicates that K9SMD does not have robust practices and processes in place.”
Based on that, officials recommended its removal as a certified organisation.
If K9 Search Medical Detection retained its status there was a risk to the dogs themselves, who might get given up by their handlers, and a risk to its clients if dogs didn’t meet their needs and weren’t trained properly.
“Risk factors may include inadequate community and road safety orientation and/or inaccurate reactions to medical events or safety risks.”
There was also a risk to public safety.
Internal Affairs said Gifford told officials he didn’t see the value in keeping comprehensive records, saying his results spoke for themselves.
He gave officials a screenshot of a positive review from a client, and a short description of his experience as a dog trainer. These couldn’t be verified.
The advice didn’t say how many dogs K9 Search Medical Detection had trained.
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