Local Vet brings love, discipline to specially-trained dogs

By Ruth Ann Ruiz

The Post Newspaper Features Editor

Roxy and Shane have been together since 2017. She’s not a puppy anymore, but don’t tell her, as she runs after her red ball and chews on it just like a one-year-old dog would do.  She pretty much follows Shane’s directions because –after all — he did train her. 

If you want to see Roxy smile and tilt her head just say, “you wanna?” Don’t say, “do you want to,” because that means nothing to her. You have to say, “you wanna?” then she’ll tilt her head and smile for you. 

“She’s been obedience-trained and she’s a friendly dog,” Shane explained. 

Roxy was a rescue dog found in an apartment by the DEA in Maryland. Shane was finishing up his military career as a Canine Security expert and decided to adopt his own dog. 

Shane McNamara, a native of Texas, joined the Air Force in 2011.  His first task in the military was in the armory while stationed in Germany. He was then sent to Afghanistan and was assigned to canine duty. 

The military trained McNamara to train dogs. The dogs were trained to find explosives such as IED’s and to be aggressive on command. His last duty station was at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

“I served on the Presidential Canine Security team under both President Obama and President Trump,” said McNamara. “We worked jointly with the Secret Service,” he added. 

After six years in the military, he was ready to be a civilian again. Upon his discharge in 2017, he opened his own dog training business, BellumK9. 

“Bellum means ‘war’ in Latin and the word was on the bullets I handed out while I was serving as an armorer,” explained McNamara. 

He remained in Maryland providing obedience training for private dog owners while he networked with defense contractors for bigger gigs. He got his “big gig” overseeing the entire training operation of the canine security unit for the Republic of Palau. 

“The project took over one year. I was responsible for bringing to Palau everything needed for training which included the veterinarian, an animal clinic, three trainers, all the necessary equipment and the dogs. 

Fast forward to this year, and McNamara has 2.99 acres of land in Santa Fe where he operates his dog training business. His training services run the entire gamut of possibilities. 

Recently he worked with a family whose child has cystic fibrosis. They wanted a dog to comfort their son and perform specific tasks related to his health condition. 

“The dog stays by the little boy’s side and is trained to pick up objects for him. I trained him to respond to go fetch the meds, so he is able to assist when the family needs him,” McNamara explained.  

His skills allow him to rehabilitate dogs. One pet owner paid $5,000 for her rescue dog to be retrained from coming out of a traumatic past. 

There are those people who want more than a gentle loving pet, and for them McNamara can provide full protective dog training. His services include both training and the dog. 

His dogs originate in Europe, mostly from the Netherlands and Slovakia. The dogs are flown into Texas and arrive with animal passports which include the health history of the dog. He spends time getting to know each dog and begins with basic obedience training for all the dogs he purchases.

During the first few weeks with him, he evaluates each dog for aptitude towards being a family pet with only obedience training or beyond that to being a protective dog for a carefully selected home. Some dogs are only suited for professional law enforcement duties.  

Brent and Rhonda Craig from League City are the proud owners of Quanto, a dog who is being trained for protection. “We’ve had him for a couple weeks and at first we kept him away from our grandkids. Then when they met, there were no problems,” both Craigs explained. 

Quanto will be in regular training with McNamara for about three years. The training is intense and involves a lot of physical interaction with McNamara.  Quanto has a little correcting that needs to happen. He needs to learn to play fetch not just keep away. “He likes to go fetch but won’t let go of the ball,” said Brent. 

McNamara advises his clients to keep a vest on their dog when out in public that states, “Do Not Pet.” He instructs his clients to never allow strangers to come up and pet their dogs. 

“The dogs are trained to follow commands, but they are animals and animals, like any living being, will sometimes do what they want to do,” said McNamara. 

Personal ownership of a trained protective dog is not cheap. Training and a dog with BullumK9 prices range from $15,000 and can go up as high as $50,000. “I told Rhonda to get insurance for Quanto, both medical and life,” said Craig. 

Not only is it pricey to purchase and train a dog, but it’s also costly on the trainer’s body. McNamara has suffered many injuries through the years of working in the military with the canine security unit. Countless times after a training session with one of his dogs, no matter how much protective gear he has one, he ends up with bruises on his arms. 

McNamara loves what he does and has plans to expand his business. He is working on developing training videos for on-line purchase. He enjoys both training animals for gentle tasks and training dogs for full police service positions which leaves him with opportunities to be flexible as he grows his business.