Meet the Staff

Mel Helmick – K-9 Kampus/Owner

Mel started working with horses and dogs at a very young age. She credits her early learning of animals and life experiences to God,  as well asto her beloved Great Grandfather who passed away at the age of 101 years old, leaving an enormous amount of knowledge and experiences embedded in the lives of many. Mel currently owns and operates K-9 Kampus in Malvern, Arkansas and is the founder of the Stand a Chance Foundation.

Mel began her profession in the K9 industry in 1995 and since then has made accomplishments in her career through her furthered education, and exposure to various breeds, environments, operations and situations. In 1997 Mel began going to schools to work with children in honor of her Grandfather, through the Ben Hale Forget Me Not Foundation, bringing with her Animal Assisted Education and Conservation Programs to schools in Arkansas. The first school she presented these programs to was Vilonia Elementary located in Arkansas. In 2002, Mel then went on to place Barbie, a Golden Retriever, in the first ALC classroom at Henderson Middle School in the Little Rock School District under Little Rock Mayor Jim Daily. Barbie attended school every day for a whole semester. The results were amazing.

Mel trained her first Assistance Dog in 1998 for a Disable Veteran in Nashville Tn.  Elka, a German Shepherd, was trained to assist the blind Veteran on his walks through Nashville and was conditioned to take him home to his front door. This is also when Mel began her career in the field of K9 Personal and Family Protection training and provided her first dog overseas which went to an American Embassy in Indonesia, who was a German Shepherd named Joseph.

Mel began training tracking and area search dogs in 1999 and began her career being hired out by private individuals to teach their family dog to be able to search-track and keep up with their children, and loved ones who suffered dementia. Since then Mel has trained and worked with search and rescue/recovery handler Teams and various organizations and departments in Arkansas and across the United States and continues to travel and assist with Missing and Lost Person cases heading up search operations for Law Enforcement and Private Individuals.

K-9 Kampus also merged with Quality K9 Concepts in February of 2008 as partner kennel in the south. Mel has served as one of QK9C’s Master Trainers that runs Handler Courses, and is considered and expert in the field for Search and Rescue/Recovery K9 and is in charge of Commercial/Residential Detection Services for QK9C. She has also served as a Judge for the American Patrol and Protection Dog Association.

Mel is one of the best K9 Instructors in the business today assisting pet owners, professional handlers, and K9 entities and other trainers as well. She has served as an Animal Cruelty Investigator for the state of Arkansas, and is an accomplished Animal Care Specialist and possesses a unique understanding of animal behavior that comes from several years of exposure to different situations and environments. She has an innate sense of handling and training the dogs that no one thinks can be fixed. Mel has worked with rescue groups from all over, assisting them with problem solving issues, and by providing jobs for dogs that need them. Mel has literally placed dogs that have deployed for work all over the world, and continues to be contacted on a regular basis in regards to dogs that need a job and by entities and other trainers throughout who need a working dog. Mel simply knows dogs like no other, and the criteria to be met in order for that dog to be successful in the chosen field. She has placed her hands on more dogs than most will see their entire life. Mel is known throughout the country for her abilities or what most call her gift and for her analytical mind, as well her ability to process through a crisis or problem solving situation which requires immediate attention.

University of Kentucky
Terrorism Response and Preparedness
Pediatric Terrorism, Bioterrorism, and Agroterrorism Extension Level Training

Matt Hammond – Director of Decoys/K-9 Kampus

Is the Founder of Quality K9 Concepts, with a decorated 11-year career in the U.S. Army as a K-9 handler were he built an extensive foundation of knowledge through situational and combat experience. Matt is a combat veteran having served in Bosnia , Kosovo , Afghanistan , and Iraq . If there was a need for a dog team in the past decade Matt was there. Whether it was protecting the front lines standing next to Special Op’s operators in Afghanistan or providing security for the President of the United States . Matt was also called on to work at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , UT.

Matt brings experience in obedience, protection, tactical work and narcotic/explosive detection training. He also possesses considerable knowledge in the evaluation of canine disposition, conformation and trainability. Matt has trained under some of the best trainers in the world. If you ask him he will easily credit William McClure and Lewis Lundy with teaching him the craft of Schutzhund helper work, and Ken Hungerford for teaching him the art of Suit work. Being able to call upon these guys is more then a blessing. Matt conducts decoy seminars around the country and will be the first to pass credit to these three great men.

Matt is a member of the USA (United Schutzhund Clubs of America), a board of director’s member for APPDA ( American Patrol and Protection Dog Association ) and a certifying authority for the EGWDA (East Georgia Working Dog Association), an AKC canine good citizen evaluator, a Schutzhund trial helper, served as Director of Decoys for the APPDA, and a ASR Certified Decoy.

Wade Helmick-

Having grown up in the K9 industry, Wade has had an unmatched advantage of learning through visual, and hands on experience. Possessing an intuitive understanding and ability to read the varying level of a particular dogs abilities, characteristics, and disposition accelerates Wade’s ability to work through various training evolutions.Wade’s understanding of the dog has become not only a benefit to his personal training and life experiences, but also to K-9 Kampus as he has matured into a fine decoy, and has progressed beyond merely helping with training, to conducting on his own.  Wade is a certified decoy for APPDA, Quality K9 Concepts, and K-9 Kampus.