Chris Heikkila served in the Air Force from 1992 to 1996. During his tour of duty, he was stationed in various parts of the Gulf region, serving in support after Operation Desert Storm. He returned to the U.S. and began a career in banking. Since 2020, he also has had a special friend named K9 Leo, a German Shepherd who Heikkila says “has saved my life—quite literally.”

He’s now working to expand that healing mission. In September, Heikkila became general manager of The Spot, a new service dog training facility in Greenfield, Minnesota, that will provide “Battle Buddies” like Leo to veterans and first responders. (Heikkila says that he prefers the title “pawspitality host.”) The 14,600-square-foot facility, which opens in November, will feature a large training room that can host multiple service dog teams, as well as a breakroom that simulates a home environment where veterans and first responders receive real-life training with their service dogs.

The Spot will identify recipients for service dogs in collaboration with Soldier’s 6, an Inver Grove Heights-based nonprofit that provides active-duty military members, honorably discharged veterans, and first responders with specially trained K9s. Once an applicant is approved, Soldier’s 6 finds a rescue dog for the applicant. The two new companions will then be sent to The Spot for training based on “what that recipient needs,” Heikkila says. That can include deep pressure therapy, breaking anxiety or panic attacks, fetching pill or water bottles, and turning on lights when the dog’s human pal is having a nightmare.

Earlier this year, Heikkila – who spreads the word about Soldier’s 6 throughout the state – met with Perham-based KLN Family Brands, whose products include pet food lines NutriSource and Tuffy’s. KLN knew about Soldier’s 6 and its work. Indeed, the company has a history of supporting therapy dog initiatives. In 2019, it funded the NutriSource Facility Dog Program at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital. (Facility dogs are trained to perform tasks for people in hospitals and schools.)

“Soldier’s 6 had their own trainers, but KLN said, ‘let’s help out,’” Heikkila recalls. The company offered to create a business that would handle the training aspect and free up Soldier’s 6 to focus on finding and placing Battle Buddies.

KLN also had just the spot for The Spot. It had acquired the building in Greenfield as a distribution center for its pet food brands. The facility included offices the company didn’t need but which could be converted into a training facility. In addition to hiring Heikkila to manage The Spot, KLN hired Soldier 6’s Mike Boehmer to be the new facility’s head trainer.

The Spot hopes to train as many as 65 service dogs annually. Recipients will pay nothing for their new buddies and their training. The new facility will fund its mission by providing boarding, grooming, and daycare services for dogs and cats.

For Heikkila, this work is very close to the heart. His Battle Buddy, K9 Leo, “helps break the cycle of my panic and anxiety attacks,” he says. Once a cycle begins, “you can be drawn in quite deeply,” with feelings of anxiousness and isolation intensifying. “When Leo sees that I am having an attack, he will come up and paw me to break my concentration,” Heikkila says. “He’ll then stay there with me to provide deep pressure therapy when I need it to bring me out of that cycle.”

The Spot will hold a celebratory grand opening on November 1. It will officially open for business on November 6. “This mission is very personal to everyone on our team and in the KLN family,” Heikkila says. “The success of our business won’t be measured in dollars—it’s going to be how many people we can help.”