The Uncommon Leader Podcast

12 Lessons of Courage and Companionship: A K9 Officer's Tale

• John Gallagher • Episode 116

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Join us on a heartfelt journey as I sit with Mark Tappan, who not only patrols the streets as a seasoned canine officer but also weaves tales of courage and companionship as the author of "A Dog Named Mattis." Mark captivates us with the profound life lessons he's learned alongside his four-legged partner, Mattis, enveloping us in stories of transformation, spirituality, and the incredible bond that defines K-9 units. His insights into the importance of presence and the guiding hand that steers us through daily hurdles reveal an unexpectedly profound connection between man and dog.

In the realm of life's most pressing moments, Mark takes us back to pivotal episodes that shaped his character and led him to the noble calling of law enforcement, where he discovered the power of a dog's influence over human hearts. The tales of Nico and Mattis are not just of loyalty and bravery but also showcase the mirror they hold to our own lives, reflecting the dedication needed not just in training but in every leadership role we undertake. Mark's narrative is a symphony of service, learning, and growth, urging us to embrace every opportunity for betterment and influence, just as these canine heroes do.

Our conversation concludes with the impactful stories from the field that shine a light on the value of authentic, rigorous training for both the handler and their companion. Mark recounts how the legacy of Mattis endures beyond his retirement; from the joy he continues to bring through charity work to the wisdom imparted in Mark's writing. This episode is a tribute to the unsung heroes on four legs that teach us the essence of strength, focus, and the courage to face each day with unyielding determination.

Mark's book
Mark's website
Connect with Mattis on Instagram

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Speaker 1:

I'm trying to do everything I can with all of my heart, as if for the Lord, not for men. And if you look at a dog, and you look at this dog specifically, he does things with such tenacity If it's chase a ball and we have these tests that we test the dogs on very early, and he blew me away because of the way that he approached. Everything he did was just with all that he had.

Speaker 2:

Hey, Uncommon Leaders, welcome back. This is the Uncommon Leader Podcast and I'm your host, John Gallagher. I'm here today with Mark Tappan, a seasoned canine officer and now the author of A Dog Named Mattis. In our conversation, Mark shared the profound impact his service dog Mattis has had on him, both in the field and in life. Drawing wisdom from challenging experiences and the unconditional dedication of a service dog, Marcus crafted a book that captures 12 life-changing lessons. He openly discussed his journey from understanding the depths of commitment required in K-9 units to the personal growth he found through faith and reflecting on divine guidance in everyday challenges. So join us, get inspired and gain insights into leadership from an unconventional and uncommon, yet incredibly touching perspective. Let's get started.

Speaker 2:

Mark Tappan, welcome to the Uncommon Leader podcast. It is great to have you on the show. How are you doing today? I am doing fantastic. Thank you so much for having me, Mark. I'm looking forward to our conversation. Before we hit the record button, I made some comments about that Saints paraphernalia behind us. Maybe we'll get a chance to talk about that just a little bit as we go forward and talk about some football. We've got a lot of changes going on coming into the season, but we're here today to talk about your book that's coming out, and we're going to talk about that in great detail. But I'll say this I start every first-time guest with the same question. I'm not going to give you any relief from that. Even though you are a canine officer, I'm going to ask you to tell me a story from your childhood that still impacts who you are today as a person or as a leader.

Speaker 1:

So I was thinking about this and one was I was. I remember I was in high school and it was right before a history test that I hadn't studied for high school and it was right before a history test that I hadn't studied for. We were waiting for the doors to open to take our final and I was unprepared. A friend of mine, who always worked diligently, started rubbing it in my face and said why don't you prepare? You have a great mind, but you don't put the work in. And I said I bet I'll score higher on this test than you. And he goes. Yeah, let's go.

Speaker 1:

Guy's brilliant, I think. He ended up going to medical school a good friend of mine, scott, and I'm like all right, give me your notes, cause I didn't have any notes of my own. And so for the five minutes before the class I crammed and I did end up beating him by two points, getting a 98 on the exam, and he got a 96 using his notes. But I realized how much potential I was wasting away in that moment. It was one of those that I was like I'm not applying myself, I'm not putting the work in, and because of that I'm going to suffer later on, and so it was something that had a great impact on me is to use what you've been given to the utmost, and I hadn't been doing that. So I really appreciate my buddy Scott that kind of instilled that upon me.

Speaker 2:

Excellent. Well, I tell you we're here to talk about. I appreciate you sharing that story. Oh, here we go. I see our main subject maybe coming in through the door. So you've written a book. A Dog Named Mattis, yes, and for those of you on the video, you're going to be able to see him come up here pretty soon. He's just a little puppy.

Speaker 1:

He's huge. I'm going to take this off so you can actually see him real quick. There's the man.

Speaker 2:

Oh, there he is, goodness gracious, look at him.

Speaker 1:

That's awesome.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome. I appreciate you sharing that. So a dog named Mattis? Yes, tell me about this book. What was the inspiration? There's the copy of it. You can put it back up there again. There's a copy of it. What was the inspiration behind writing the book? Who'd you write it for?

Speaker 1:

Well, it was the dog, really that inspired me. What I wrote it for was I remember I was trying to tell my story to my daughter about the things that Mattis has done, because he's a pretty heroic. I realized there was a lot that God was teaching me through this talk and that I could pick up if you just pay attention. And it made me realize in life that there's so much that's going on all around us and even as I look at the pieces of the puzzle of my life, how they all fell into place, you miss it sometimes in the moment and it's good to go back and reflect of the things that God was sculpting you into during that time. So, luckily, I had some people around me that believed that I could do this, because this was one that you mentioned it like once again.

Speaker 1:

In school I didn't do great. The first time I was a college dropout, the first time a Marine. We're not known for our intelligence, so that's one thing A youth pastor and now a cop. So a lot of people's first question about the book is you wrote it? I don't know if I believed it myself, but I had people around me that believed that I could do it and that we had a story that might impact other people, and so I'm so grateful for those people. We had a story that might impact other people, and so I'm so grateful for those people.

Speaker 2:

Um, and it's the reason that we have a printed copy today of of the things that God has taught me through my dog. I love that. As you listen to that and, mark, I know you uh hard on yourself, maybe a little self-deprecation with regards to school and things like that and the journey that you've been on. And I just had a chance a chance just a little while ago to talk with another author and one of the things I said usually that comes out of these books you're overcoming something as an individual. Well, I know the story is about Mattis. It's about you as well and how we are able to, as leaders, help the people that we used to be, and one of the ways that we do that is through our writing, through our stories that we tell, and I think you've been able to do that.

Speaker 2:

Now, mattis has three kids books that have come out. First, this is your first adulting book 12 lessons that you have been taught by God through your dog, mattis. But tell me a little bit more. Let's go back and focus on you for just a minute to learn more about you. Tell me a little bit more about your journey to canine officer and now author.

Speaker 1:

Oh goodness. Well, it's one of those that it depends on how far back you want to go, If I remember that.

Speaker 2:

So I often ask like, how fast will the car go? It depends on how high you drop it from Right In terms of how you know you put it up on a 50 story building it'll go pretty fast by the time it reaches the ground, so you go back as far as you want to.

Speaker 1:

Um, goodness, well, let I'll start with just police force and if you want more, we'll go there. Um, I remember being and this is actually in the book as well. I tell this story of when I got into police work. I definitely wanted to make an impact. I wanted to leave a legacy, be a light in people's lives. Very early on like from the story I told you about Scott I remember watching Chariots of Fire back in the day and the words of Eric Liddell where he said God made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure.

Speaker 1:

I got into being a youth pastor and I remember setting up chairs and I had my senior pastor who saw my attitude while setting up the chairs and he said do it as if you're doing it for God. Tonight, like Jesus is coming to your youth group and it had a new tenacity in the way that I set up chairs is like this has to be so good because I'm doing it for the Lord. Right, and this whole Eric Liddell is when I run, I feel his pleasure. I got into police work and I wanted to be the absolute, absolute best at whatever it was that I did. I got into SWAT very early on and I remember doing demonstrations for the public.

Speaker 1:

I love to do public demonstrations because we were going through a time in our nation and still are, where there's a great chasm between people and the police, and so I want to do whatever I could to bring people in. And so I love doing public demonstrations, being real with people answering questions, and I want to do a great job at it. And I remember the canine guy and the canine guy at the time he wasn't one of our superstars, he wasn't a go-getter, if you will. He came with a dirty police car. He came late to the demonstration and he showed up and the second he got that dog out of the car. Crowds of people flocked around him. I realized that dogs have such an impact on people and we could use the amazing things that they do and how inquisitive people are to build bridges. So I think that kind of is one of the things that drove me to be a canine.

Speaker 2:

Officer is A I love dogs, but two it's the bridge they create with people love that and I do appreciate you sharing the story about um moving into that canine side, and I can see how dogs that size mattis is a fairly, uh, large dog and I like the story.

Speaker 2:

We'll get to that story about how you ended up, uh, with mattis, but you end up in the canine unit. You didn't start off with mattis right off the bat. So the the way I'm watching and following the book, your first three lessons really come from a different dog named Nico. So how is it that, ultimately, you saw the power that the dogs had to build bridges Once you got into that. When did you know that? Yeah, this is what I want to do.

Speaker 1:

Well, I mean, from the beginning it was one of those that, once I started doing it I have my dad field trained labs growing up. I absolutely love dogs and I actually saw it the second. You get into canine, you think you understand what you're getting into, but you never, ever, ever do. You don't understand the commitment that it takes, the training that it takes. You are now training that animal 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It never stops. You're either training or untraining the dog at all times and the dog goes home with you. He stays at your house. That's kind of the way that we run it. He's around your family, he's in the patrol car with you. That dog's with you more than any person on the planet. And so I loved the challenge that it was. And so I think from the very instant I loved everything about canine.

Speaker 1:

And then two as I went along in canine, realizing that the only way that we were going to get better is learning from as many people as you possibly could, I saw it kind of like the first school that I went to. It was kind of like UFC back in the day, and if you remember UFC back in the day, it was my martial art is better than your martial art, right? My Kung Fu is good. Your Kung Fu is no good, right.

Speaker 1:

And so they would put a shoot fighter up against Brazilian jujitsu and see what would happen. And as the fighters got smarter and smarter, they realized, if I know it at all, I can beat these guys. And so that's what I kind of saw with dog training the first place that I went there. Like, always come to us, we know everything, and I started applying myself and realizing there are so many people out there that know so much. So I tried to learn as much as I could, and I love the challenge of always trying to get better at something, and with a dog that never, ever, ever stopped. So the challenge was every single day up until the day my dog retired.

Speaker 2:

And you think about that. I mean, you made the choice. That was very important. Then you identified ultimately what some of those barriers were, including the time commitment. You know many leaders face the same types of things today. They just choose their field of work that they want to go into. You just chose that problem, if you will, to get started, which was going to be canine, and some of those things. What were some of the biggest challenges you had to overcome with Mattis?

Speaker 1:

Well, with Mattis there was tons, and some of that's in the book. He had a tooth injury very early on that almost prohibited him from even being a police dog before it even started. He chipped his tooth in training, which meant I couldn't reward him. And also he wasn't supposed to be a police dog. He was supposed to be a personal protection dog. So where other dogs start with kind of a baseline understanding of what the job is supposed to be, all he knew how to do was the apprehension work, which is the bite work, and so it meant I had to train him for all the odor work, while all the other dogs already had that, and it was just more of a bonding between the handler and the dog type of school. So that was one of the challenges. There's tons, though Learning how to communicate with a dog.

Speaker 1:

That was one of the challenges. There's tons though learning how to communicate with a dog. Once again, things that I learned in the book is I'm supposed to be the smart one, and if there's a communication failure it's it's my fault, it's not the dog's fault, but a lot of times we'll get frustrated at the dog and take it out on the dog, and you can't do that. It's one of those that you have to figure out. Ok, how can I communicate to this dog what I want it to do, or how can I understand what he's trying to tell me? Because the only barrier to this equation is this guy. So there's always tons of things with canine. It's one of the most rewarding and challenging at all times of police jobs.

Speaker 2:

There's a humility of what part of the problem am I? And it's probably as you say. It's like you said it's not the dog, it's me. I've identified the enemy and the enemy is me. I love the purpose behind kind of the work that you do as well in terms of building bridges, specifically you've talked about in the communities. Is there a specific story that you have with Madison in terms of having that impact, building that that's really touched you and been one that's important for you?

Speaker 1:

Well, I, we've done a lot of charity work, which has been fantastic. Um, I I get throughout my career I've had a lot of people reach out that are inspired to be canine handlers because of what we did. Um, I think the most and it doesn't necessarily involve my dog, but it was more of my faith in realizing my purpose. In a certain situation, we had a call where a young man I believe he was 12 years old had committed suicide. His parents found him and it was one of those.

Speaker 1:

I saw crosses, I saw Bibles, I saw a family that was in pain and I had we had other officers there that were taking care of a lot of other of the things that had to happen, but I thought the most important thing was to pray with them and to love on them, and so it's things like that that have had the greatest impact on me. You carry a lot as a police officer. A lot of it's dark, and that was one of those very dark times, but it was very evident that I needed to be in a light in that situation, and so that's one of the things that it kind of gives me a warm feeling that I could be there for the family in that time and I hope that it helped and had some sort of impact.

Speaker 2:

Hey listeners, I want to take a quick moment to share something special with you. Many of the topics and discussions we have on this podcast are areas where I provide coaching and consulting services for individuals and organizations. If you've been inspired by our conversation and are seeking a catalyst for change in your own life or within your team, I invite you to visit coachjohngallaghercom. Forward slash free call to sign up for a free coaching call with me. It's an opportunity for us to connect, discuss your unique challenges and explore how coaching or consulting can benefit you and your team. Okay, let's get back to the show. Mark, you see dark in the role that you're in. You've also mentioned how important your faith is to the work that you do. How have you been able to stay disciplined with your faith in spite of the darkness that you see on a daily basis in that role?

Speaker 1:

Well, I don't know if I could do it, and there's people without faith that do this job and I'm not sure how. I need that firm foundation that I know. We know the winner in the end and he prevails, and so it's the theodicy argument from theology. Right is, how could a good God allow evil in the world? And the end result is he solved it with Jesus and we win in the end. And so, always having that firm foundation, have an amazing family, wife that loves me, supports me, loves Jesus and encourages me, and then having friends in my church, all those things, uh, that's the foundation, that's what keeps me going and and keeps my eyes fixed on the end.

Speaker 2:

I'm excited. I was, I was real excited when I had a chance to chat with you about the book. We have a friend in our home group In fact we are hosting this evening after I have a friend in our home group In fact we are hosting this evening after the interview and he was a canine officer in the state of Vermont where he was. He was a state trooper up there and he's usually all on his own, but he talks about his dog all the time when I see him at church and things like that. And I know that you all need a strong support system as officers not just canine officers, but as officers in that system and I'm glad you can find that in church. Well, let's talk about the book. You have 12 lessons that you've learned from Mattis. Was there one that really sticks out to you, that you like as a favorite that you wrote? I know it's probably an unfair question, but I've got a couple, but I'll let you go favorite first.

Speaker 1:

I would say the Go All In. That's kind of been the and the whole. If I look back at my life, what I try to do with what I do is if I give everything I've got and do it for the glory of God, it usually turns out pretty good. And, like we were talking about the uncommon leader, that's what I've tried to do, like with my social media, with the book that I did, with the way that I approach the job. Training Mattis is I'm trying to do everything I can with all of my heart, as if for the lord, not for men.

Speaker 1:

And, um, if you look at a dog, and you look at this dog specifically, he does things with such tenacity. Uh, if it's chase a ball and it's, we have these tests that we we test the dogs on very early, and he blew me away because of the way that he approached. Everything he did was just with all that he had, and so that lesson alone it's one of those that I wish I could capture. Um, whatever it is that drives my dog so hard to do what he loves, and so my other dog just came in too to to say hi. She got jealous so that we were up in here having fun. But yeah, even if it's greet me at the door, that dog does it with the utmost, and I've been gone for five minutes. The dog is so excited to see me and if I was like, if I can approach life the same way that my dog does, that would be pretty good the same way that my dog does.

Speaker 2:

That would be pretty good. You know, it's interesting. I see the viral Instagram video that shows that guy shooting everything into a hockey net or something like that, and he's got the dog sitting in front of the hockey net and that dog is focused on one item. He doesn't care about any of the other ones until that one pops up. And I sense that all those I say all that many of those canine dogs are like that. They're so focused on what is important. And, again, from a leadership perspective, as leaders, anytime we allow distractions into our space and that dilutes the results that we're going to get. So, you know, focus is something that is absolutely required and going all in is something that defines that. Okay, I'm going to jump into one that I like be strong and courageous.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and.

Speaker 2:

I know it's one again. I appreciate how you started each chapter as well with a verse that went along with the lesson which a Bible verse that went along with the lesson, but this is one that kind of struck me as a little bit funny, as you were training but you had another trainer that you're working with named Amanda. Tell me the story about Amanda and how you may have underestimated her a little bit.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I 100% underestimated her. She was a friend of a friend and she had a great reputation in the dog training world. But I just knew that she was a great trainer. And, mattis, you saw him earlier. He's a big dog. When he was working he's about 100 pounds and he's also the hardest biting dog that I've ever caught in my life. And caught means when you put on the decoy suit and let the dog train by biting you, it hurts actually, like their sleeves and stuff that don't hurt as much. But when you put the suit on, especially the ones that we chose to wear, which were better for the dog, you don't want all the extra fluff because then the dog becomes equipment fixated. So you like a thin suit that'll keep the teeth from going through it but at the same time you can move around and it looks natural to a dog.

Speaker 1:

Um, we were doing this training scenario she had showed up for and she starts putting on on the bite suit and I'm like she trains with another guy named jesse and I'm like maybe you know, I'm thinking in my head. I don't think I said it out loud, think the lord I didn't say it out loud is maybe, maybe he should do this and you shouldn't. Right is because she's putting on. She's four foot eleven, maybe what, and I'm not exaggerating. I might be a little bit, but I don't think she weighs over 100 pounds. She is tiny and we're going through the scenario. She's very intelligent. This is what we're looking for. This is what we're trying to get out of the dog. This is what we're trying to get out of you.

Speaker 1:

And it was a building search and we were going to do what we call long line extraction, which means I put him on a 30-foot leash. He goes in front of me and searches the building, so it's safe. When he finds someone, if they don't surrender, then he bites and then I can pull the person to me. I've done this with literally a 300-pound guy and I've drug him out of a car with Mattis latching on. So we go in this office building searching. Mattis is incredibly efficient, finds Amanda who's hiding, latches on and I start pulling. For all I'm worth I'm pulling and especially when I was canine handler, swat Marine like a workout pretty decent. That dog is really strong. And so we start pulling together. She's not moving. Oh, my goodness, what's happening? She had leveraged the leash around a pole so I couldn't pull. I go in there and then I'm like, ok, well, that was pretty cool, she got me, I'm coming in now.

Speaker 1:

It changes the tactics a little bit. Good job she is. As I walk through the door, she's got a bottle of water. She's dumping it on my dog's head. Which, don't fret, like.

Speaker 1:

These are things that it's good for the dog to go through, because you want as real life. You don't want to hurt the dog, obviously, but you want him to encounter things that he could encounter in real life so that he knows how to fight through it. And so she's dumping this on on the dog's head. She's fighting and thrashing back and forth, sees me, chucks the water bottle right in my face. It explodes on me.

Speaker 1:

I'm like and my reaction to all of this is this is awesome, like I love it, because I know this is real training, like this is what the dog needs. He's never seen a girl act like this in a bite suit. And she is so realistic. And she's fighting and thrashing. Mattis's tail is wagging, he's having a blast and then, typically, with a lot of decoys, what we do, how we end the the training exercise with the bite, is we'll be like all right, stand still, um, and I'll get the dog off of you. And she's like nope, because not everyone in real life and I'll get the dog off of you. And she's like nope, because not everyone in real life stops fighting. And so it was one of those that it was like, okay, well, what are you going to do? And so my smile just grew because I'm like this is, this is amazing. So now I have to control her.

Speaker 1:

So Mattis is latched on, I grab and I sweep her legs and take her to the ground and simulate putting her cuffs and the dog. I tell Matt's like oh, and he pops off like he's supposed to, and I look at her and just say that was amazing. She completely blew me away, um, and I shouldn't have been blown away, but I was so impressed. She's, to this day, the most realistic decoy that has ever been in the suit for for my dog, and she made him better, made me better because of the work that she puts in and the pride she takes in what she does. I it was. It was amazing. And it was so much fun too, john, to watch the other guys go through it and the same look on their face. You know, I'm not that big either. I'm a pretty small guy. But when the 300 pound handler got in there and was having the same difficulty, it was hilarious, like it was the best best training, that's so cool, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So the folks that can kind of role, play that and really make that real for you can be pretty powerful, no doubt about it. So Mattis is retired now. Yes, how does Mattis continue to add value? Or you know, obviously you, you have Mattis, uh, as your dog now, but how does he continue to add value in the community?

Speaker 1:

Well, it was one of those that, like through the books, um, the social media, I always I I wanted to do something that would make an impact and leave a lasting impact, do good for other dogs, for other handlers, um, for as many people as we possibly could, and so that's always I want to be, I want to be real, I want to be excellent with with the training that we did, with the social media that we did and with the charity work that we do. So it's one of those that we still see it as a goal every day that we wake up is we're trying to leave people's lives better. So much hate, so much evil, so many things going on in this world. If we can be a bright light and do things with excellence and show people what our real lives, how we are, that's what we see social media as and these books, hopefully, is it makes a lasting impact on people's lives.

Speaker 2:

Mark speaking of that impact. When folks are done reading your book, what is the impact you want them to take away from reading?

Speaker 1:

If you can, like I was able to look at the world and see how God is teaching you through your circumstances, that'll be a win. That's what I was able to do, and I think I'm not special. There's everyone around me. God is speaking to you, he's trying to teach you through your circumstances, and so if you can pay attention to the still small voice of the Lord and how he's whispering to you, it can make quite an impact in your life. So that's what I would say is, man, look at your circumstances now and try to figure out what is God teaching me, because he's trying to make you more like his son Jesus.

Speaker 2:

I appreciate that, Mark. You mentioned social media a couple of different times. How do folks stay in touch with you and Mattis?

Speaker 1:

Well, if you look up, this is a little confusing. If you look up canine Mattis on Instagram, you'll see us. Our biggest following is on TikTok. We're canine Mattis. We don't know if that's going to stick around for long or not, but you can find us there too. So those are the two major ones. There's mydogmaddiscom, too. My website will get you all the places that you need to be.

Speaker 2:

I will make sure I put links in the show notes to all those things.

Speaker 1:

Thank, you, sir Mark.

Speaker 2:

I appreciate you investing the time with the listeners of the Uncommon Leader Podcast. I'll finish you up with the same question. I want to honor your time. I'll finish up with the same question. I always have my first time guests that are on the show and that's. I'm going to give you a billboard. You can put it. You can put it down there in New Orleans If that's where you are, kind of thing of being that a Saints fan we'll, we, we'll get a little.

Speaker 1:

I'm not taller, I'm not stronger, I'm not faster, but if you do things with conviction, with all your heart, as if working for the Lord, not for men, um, I think you'll be pretty successful.

Speaker 2:

Pretty good message Sounds good to me, Mark. Thank you. Maybe we'll meet in the Superbowl this year. Steelers and Saints, all black and gold That'd be great if that would happen. More important than that, though, I wish you the best in the launch of your book and everything successful for you into the future as well. Take care, okay. Thanks again, Thanks, and that wraps up another episode of the Uncommon Leader Podcast. Thanks for tuning in today. If you found value in this episode, I encourage you to share it with your friends, colleagues or anyone else who could benefit from the insights and inspiration we've shared. Also, if you have a moment, I'd greatly appreciate if you could leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback not only helps us to improve, but it also helps others discover the podcast and join our growing community of uncommon leaders. Until next time, go and grow champions.