Meet the Team

My name is Ben Savu. I was born in Paragould, Arkansas, and raised in Jonesboro, Arkansas. I finished schooling in Utah where I fell in love with dog training and started to learn more about bird dogs. After finishing school, I came back to Arkansas and started training dogs for duck hunting and pet obedience. I wanted to continue my education in training so I attended and graduated from The Tom Rose School. I graduated from the Professional and Masters course where I learned how to train Pet dogs, Working dogs, Service dogs, and Police/Military dogs. After I graduated, I was accepted into the Rose Scholar program and started working as the Training Director for the Dog House. I am very excited to be part of the Joint Force K9 team where we help create Happy, Obedient, Family Dogs.

Oscar Trevino served as a law enforcement officer for 28 years.  He served as a Police Officer for the Palestine Texas Police Department as a Patrolman and was quickly recognized as a proactive officer and was awarded the Pride Patrolman Award in 1995. He was asked to assist in criminal investigations and serve high-risk warrants as part of the Anderson County Joint Narcotics Taskforce. Oscar then went on to serve as a Police Officer for the City of McAllen, Texas, and later as an officer with the Rice University Police Department where he gained valuable experience in working Community Oriented Policing and mentoring collegiate alumni.  Oscar then moved into the Federal Law Enforcement service by becoming a United States Border Patrol Agent in 2001 and was stationed in the Laredo Sector.  Oscar utilized all the experience he had gained thus far in the Law Enforcement field and excelled as an Agent and soon became a Canine Handler with his first canine, K9 Rico. Working alongside Rico they soon became part of an Elite group with over 200 drug interdiction seizures. This hard work was quickly noticed and Oscar was asked to become a certified K9 trainer in 2004 where he trained one of the largest K-9 units not only in The United States Border Patrol but the Nation with over 150 k9 teams.

In 2008, Oscar was promoted to Supervisory Border Patrol Agent and continued training police dogs not only for the United States Border Patrol but for many local and state police K-9 units. He became a national trainer and judge for the National Detector Dog Association in various disciplines. In 2017 Oscar served as a Special Operations Supervisor and Canine Coordinator for the Laredo Sector Border Patrol where he was responsible for the daily operations and management of the unit.  Oscar then moved on to be a handler and trainer for the Border Patrol’s Patrol K9 program where he and his K9 partner Kazan served for four years. Oscar was solely responsible for the management and training of the K9 unit attached to the Border Patrol’s Special Operations Detachment working alongside the Border Patrol Tactical Team BORTAC. During his time as a K9 handler and trainer, he was responsible for hundreds of arrests and apprehensions of violent felony offenders and the seizure of thousands of pounds of illegal contraband.  Oscar has successfully testified in Local, State, and Federal courts as a witness in criminal cases involving searches and seizures with the use of Police K9’s.

Oscar Retired as a Supervisory Border Patrol Agent in December 2021, and has continued to serve as a Police K9 Trainer and has continued to practice his craft in training dogs and people post-retirement.   Oscar is a certified level three decoy for the American Politiehond Association and has titled two dogs in the sport.

Alexander was born and raised in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. While growing up he was always outdoors. Whether he was outside playing with his dog or looking for different types of snakes and bugs to analyze. Alexander also would love to volunteer at the local places in his community such as Thomas J O’Connor Animal Control & Adoption Center, Life Care Center of Wilbraham, coaching youth sports teams, and many more.

After high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a Military Police Officer where he was stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. While stationed there, Alexander was selected to attend the Basic Handlers course at Lackland Air-force Base in Texas to become a Military Working Dog handler. Shortly after completing that course and returning to California, he was selected to attend the Combat Tracking Dog Course which is a specialty school where he fell in love with tracking. Upon getting out of the military he decided to further his education for what he is passionate about by attending Starmark Academy’s Master Canine Trainer and Animal Behavior Course in Hutto, TX. While there Alexander became a certified Master Trainer and Animal Behavior Specialist, Advanced Pet CPR & First Aid Certified, and even got the title of Canine Good Citizen through AKC for his rescue dog, Rusty.

Alexander is proud to be a part of the Joint Forces K9 family. No matter how difficult the problem, you can put your trust in Alexander to help you and the man’s best friend achieve your goal. Above is a picture of Alexander with his late father’s police K9 Dalka.

Bryan is an Oklahoma native who has spent most of his life in Arkansas. His passion for dogs has led him to a 5 year career immersing himself in animal health. This intense drive has only grown his love for them and has inspired him to pursue a lifelong commitment in mastering and training dogs. Bryan has joined the Joint Forces K9 team and is excited to become proficient in all aspects of training dogs for your every need.

      Katelyn was born in Colorado and was raised in central Texas and Southern Illinois. Katelyn grew up in a family of animal lovers and learned to love animals just the same.  Her love for animals is so deep she even chose St Francis of Assisi, the patron of animals, as her confirmation saint. Even as a little girl, she would rescue homeless dogs off the streets. Katelyn wanted to learn the ins-n-outs of dogs so much she took a vet class to learn the ins then went to the Kennelwood Academy for Professional Dog Trainers in Union, Missouri, to learn the outs. At the Academy, she would often visit several Kennelwood facilities to gain real-world, hands-on experience and learn varieties of dog behaviors and how to modify them so that the relationship between humans and dogs, in a family, can be a loving, caring, and rewarding one.

Katelyn is patient and determined. She was the first female graduate of Kennelwood Academy and finished among the top in her class. Katelyn has a positive, high-energy personality and always sees the best in dogs. You will notice Katelyn among the crowd because she is the one who always has a smile on her face. Katelyn is experienced in working dogs, tracking, odor detection, retrieving, basic and advanced obedience, and behavior modification. Her specialties are scent work, retrieves, and behavior modification. Her goals for her clients are to keep your dog safe and for you and your dog to have a better life together. Her dream is to travel around the country and world to help save animals following disasters. Katelyn is excited to work with you and your dog at Joint Forces K9 Group.

My name is Kailyn and I am from Siloam. I have always had a love for animals and have most recently enjoyed breaking horses in my free time. I’m excited to see where my life takes me in the animal world and am so thankful for the opportunity that Joint Forces K9 has given me! Not often can people say that going to work feels like a dream, but for me, I can say that with 100% honesty! Working for Joint Forces K9 is a blast, and it has opened so many doors for my continued pursuit of working with animals!

Autumn Bandera is from Chicago, Illinois. Her family always owned a dog growing up, as well as fostered for local rescues, so she understands the care and love that goes into keeping a dog happy. She rescued her own Australian Cattle Dog, who had some behavior issues, which led to Autumn’s interest in training. After high school, she worked as a kennel attendant at a dog training facility, which gave her experience handling dogs of all types. She came to Joint Forces K9 to expand her knowledge on dog training and behavior.

Hello, my name is Brandon Shull and I am 28 years old. I am a Kennel Tech here at Joint Forces K9, but look forward to growing and expanding my knowledge for all different breeds of dogs! I was born in Joplin, MO and was raised in Missouri for most of my childhood. When I was about 10 years old my family moved from Missouri to Oklahoma to work at a poultry farm. My first pet dog was introduced to me when we moved to the farm. Ever since then I have always had a love for dogs!

Felicia was born in a small town in Oklahoma and raised on a farm.  Growing up she was always surrounded by horses and many other different animals.  She learned to appreciate all of the animals that God brought into this world.  This is where her love of animals came from and what brought her to JFK9.  She hopes to one day instill the same love she has for animals in her children.  She is very excited about the new adventure and opportunities she has at JFK9.