Andrea Mandel-Campbell - Globe and Mail (November 22, 2007)
A Way in The World
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Putting the bite on a burgeoning market (CASE STUDY)

When it came to starting up her own business, Linda Lazarowich was like a dog with a bone. She tried everything—from clothing for full-figured women and the "vertically challenged" to tea cozies. The Winnipeg clothing and textile specialist was at the end of her entrepreneurial rope when she had a eureka moment: What about uniforms for police dogs?

Lazarowich immediately got to work designing lightweight vests, equipped with pockets and reflective trimming that would not only identify working dogs to the public, but also help protect them from on-the-job hazards such as fire (she makes the uniforms with heat-resistant material) and dangerous crime scenes. This time around, though, she wanted to make sure there would be a market for her product, so she skipped Canada altogether and focused on a security-conscious country with deep pockets: the United States. It wasn't easy. The number of dogs employed by security agencies, such as police departments and the military, and what they are used for, is a "highly guarded secret," says Lazarowich. "It's a hugely difficult area to get into, because these dogs are considered strategic weapons."

To build trust, Lazarowich attended trade shows and got involved with K9 professional associations. She identified areas of the U.S. where large numbers of dogs were used. Three years later, in 2004, she landed her first big contract, with the L.A. Police Department, selling them 13 vests. Her company, K9 Pro Wear, now supplies police forces across the U.S. and is exploring opportunities with the American military. Lazarowich is even looking to expand into South America and Europe, and has branched out into search-and-rescue dogs.

K9's three-person operation, which includes Lazarowich's brother, Michael, who heads up marketing, has yet to turn a profit. But the doggedly determined Lazarowich planned for that. "The U.S. market is so different than what we have here—it's a whole different ball game," she says, noting that the U.S. has a long history of using dogs within the country's broad and multi-jurisdictional law enforcement sector, which ranges from the Department of Homeland Security to private security on railway lines. "It's not for the faint of heart," she says, "but if it were easy, everybody would do it."
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