Herb Bennett – Training Director

Herb has a bachelor’s degree in Criminology, Masters Degree in Criminal Justice Administration and 25+ years of service as a law enforcement officer. Herb started in K-9 in 1994 at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (Bartow, Florida) when he received his 1st K-9 Cezar, who later became the father to Leanne’s K-9 Keito. Herb became a K-9 Instructor with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in 1997, taking his first K-9 instructor course. After retiring, Herb took a position with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office as the K-9 Sergeant. To keep up with rapidly evolving K-9 philosophies, Herb took his 2 nd K-9 instructor school through Police Service Dogs and Lazaro Cabrera.

Leanne Bennett – President

Leanne retired from the Lakeland Police Department (Lakeland, Florida) where her last                     assignment was as a K-9 Handler. As a K-9 Handler Leanne worked her K-9 Keito, which she                    raised from a puppy. Leanne then took an assignment as a K-9 Handler with the Lowndes                    County Sheriff’s Office (Valdosta, Georgia), where she was promoted to the Sergeant of the K-9 Unit before she left Law Enforcement to pursue her dream of becoming a Nurse. Leanne is now a Nurse Practitioner with Cardiology at South Georgia Medical Center (SGMC). In addition to nursing, Leanne handles the administrative, marketing and daily operational duties of HBK-9.

Justin Tucker – Head Trainer

Justin has worked in law enforcement for 12 years, 6 of which have been in K9. Justin started with the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office in 2015 and K9 in 2016 with K9 Lucius a bloodhound trained in tracking. Justin then started his current partner Hyde, a patrol dog, in 2019. Tucker was promoted to K9 instructor and attended instructor school with Police Service Dogs, Lazaro Cabrera in 2020. Justin currently serves as the Sergeant of the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office and over sees training of the agencies K9's

About Us

HBK-9, LLC. is a husband and wife owned company, with both being previous K-9 Handlers/Trainers. We are located in the Southeastern United States in the State of Georgia, but right on the boarder of Florida. We are in the small town of Sparks, located in Cook County, GA. While the business was established in 2023, the owners have been in the police canine business since 1994. We specialize in providing the highest quality of strong social police dogs, single and dual purpose dogs, sport dogs and personal protection dogs.  Unlike some others, we hand select all of our dogs to ensure they meet the quality our company expects.