People in Central Oregon may recognize JD Platt from any number of arenas. A former pro snowboarder and pro disc golfer who also owns the standup paddleboard company, JD SUP, suffice to say that Platt is a busy guy. Also in his repertoire: Training stunt dogs as part of his company, JD Platt's K9 Kings Entertainment—a venture that's landed him on Animal Planet and CBS, to name just a couple shows he's been on. Locally, you can catch him at Oregon WinterFest and other big events, where his "flying dogs" are the stars of the show.
That includes Wallowa, who's featured on the cover of this magazine. We caught up with Platt to talk show dogs and more.
CO Pets: Tell us about the dog featured on this issue's cover. What kind of dog is she, and what makes her special in your pack?
JD Platt: She is a rare Catahoula Leopard Dog. It's a breed that was developed in Louisiana to hunt wild boar. A tough, tenacious and intelligent breed that has incredible athletic abilities. She's a very unique dog to my pack because of her wild ways and endless youthful personality.
CO Pets: Tell us a little bit about your work with dogs and what it means to you.
JD Platt: My career with dogs started 24 years ago. I'm very blessed to have a career that I work with animals and travel the country. My dogs are working type breeds that love to have a job. The world is a better place with a dog in your life and I'm super lucky to have the opportunity to share my wonderful team of dogs at numerous events around the country.
CO Pets: Do you look for a special type of dog breed, character, etc. for your K9 Kings?
JD Platt: With my business I mostly look for dogs that have high energy and love to play. I rescue dogs as much as I can and when it comes to finding the right dog for entertainment, I look for many different types of qualities like friendliness, outgoing, fun and athletic.
CO Pets: What should people do first if they're looking to get into "show-dogging?"
JD Platt: My business is a very rare type of career with only about 10 groups in the world entertaining with dogs. If wanting to possibly get involved with this type of career it would take an individual with experience handling dogs, loves to travel, enjoys people and has an outgoing and fun personality that thrives on entertaining and touching people's lives. By far the biggest part is having an extreme desire to be around a lot of dogs for the rest of your life and be willing to sacrifice some of life's freedoms.
CO Pets: What's your favorite part about working with dogs?
JD Platt: My favorite part of working with dogs is their endless passion to please and be loved. Dogs are the most consistent givers of the true meaning of unconditional love and it's a joy to have raised and trained over 25 dogs in my life!
Find Platt and his dogs at k9kings.com.
