Working Animal Readiness and Response Training

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION NUMBER 70RWMD26RFIP00006 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Health Security 

NOTE: THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and market research planning purposes. This RFI shall not be construed as an obligation on the part of the Government. This is NOT a Request for Quotations or Proposals. The Government may or may not issue a formal solicitation as a result of the responses received to this RFI. 

The Government will not pay for any response or demonstration expenses. All costs incurred responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Failure to respond to this RFI will not preclude participation in any future solicitation. Any information received will become the property of the Government and will not be returned to the submitter. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or sensitive information. 

The Government’s explicit intent, in this request for information, is to not receive from respondents any proprietary data, trade secrets, business sensitive information, or information considered CONFIDENTIAL under 18 U.S.C. §1905. The Government’s constraint does not in any way relieve contractors from their responsibility to properly mark proprietary data when it is provided, nor does it alleviate any requirement for the Government to protect marked data. The Government is not obligated to protect unmarked data. 

The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government and will not be returned. 

DESCRIPTION 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Health Security (OHS) is conducting market research to inform the acquisition strategy and technical requirements for a planned Working Animal Readiness & Response (WARR) Training requirement. This effort will provide standardized, high‑quality working animal first aid and advanced medical response training for DHS personnel who handle, ride, or provide emergency medical support to working canines and equines.

DHS Components rely extensively on working canines and equines to execute critical homeland security missions, including law enforcement, border security, screening, search and rescue, and special events support. These working animals operate in austere, high‑risk, and dynamic environments where immediate access to licensed veterinary care may be limited or delayed. DHS seeks industry feedback on training approaches that would enable canine handlers, equine riders, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers to recognize and manage common medical emergencies involving working canines and equines, perform immediate life‑saving interventions, and safely stabilize and transport injured animals until veterinary care is available.

OHS, led by the DHS Chief Medical Officer, is the principal medical, workforce health and safety, and public health authority for DHS. OHS’s Total Workforce Protection Directorate (TWPD), through the Health and Medical Readiness Division (HMRD), is responsible for establishing and overseeing medical readiness programs, policies, and standardized training that support a mission‑ready DHS workforce, including working animals. Within OHS’s Healthcare Systems and Oversight Directorate (HCSOD), the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Division provides medical oversight, technical guidance, and operational support for DHS EMS programs and prehospital care activities. TWPD/HMRD will serve as the managing office for the WARR Training requirement, with HCSOD/EMS providing clinical and EMS‑related input.

For planning purposes only, the WARR Training requirement is expected to support working animal programs across multiple DHS Components including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Protective Service, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Secret Service, and others. DHS currently anticipates an estimated service population of approximately 3,000 working canines and 350 working horses and a potential annual training requirement scale, for planning purposes only, is approximately 40 to 50 canine‑focused courses per year (approximately 500 canine‑related training seats per year) and up to 10 equine‑focused courses per year (approximately 100 equine‑related training seats per year). These figures are not a minimum or maximum ordering guarantee but provided as an approximation of the expected magnitude to assist potential vendors in assessing capability and capacity.  

RFI PURPOSE 

The purpose of this RFI is to: 

• Inform industry of DHS Working Animal Readiness and Response Training requirements, needs and objectives;  

• Understand the extent of industry capability to deliver training tailored to DHS’s unique operational environments (e.g., law enforcement, border operations, aviation and transportation security; and  

• Obtain feedback that may inform future acquisition planning and strategy.  

INFORMATION REQUEST 

Interested parties are to submit responses by completing the RFI Response Form via the link in the RFI Attachment/Links sections below. 

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS 

NOTE: All responses to this RFI shall be provided using the RFI Response Form link accessible in the ATTACHMENTS/LINKS section herein. In the event an industry response is incomplete or not provided at the link provided, DHS will not review and consider the response. The submission should include summary responses.  Submissions are due no later than June 4, 2026, 5:00 PM ET.  

Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. 

RFI ADJUDICATION AND RESPONSE 

DHS truly appreciates all feedback that industry is willing to provide associated with this RFI.  DHS does not intend on communicating its review of and responses to feedback received. Information provided shall be reviewed and considered internally by DHS as it finalizes its market research, applicable strategies, and draft documentation.  The review of feedback by DHS may include contractor support with non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) on file.  

CONTACT INFORMATION 

All RFI responses shall be timely provided to DHS, Office of Procurement Operations (OPO), via the link provided. 

Questions associated with this RFI can be addressed to the Contracting Officers: Evelyn Dean evelyn.dean@hq.dhs.gov and Marcus Datcher marcus.datcher@hq.dhs.gov 

SUMMARY 

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to identify key commercial medical service market space sources and capabilities. Additionally, responses to this RFI shall assist DHS in further refining draft requirements documents. 

The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. DHS has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment nor as authorization to incur costs for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. The Government is not required to respond to any information provided in response to this RFI. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor SAM.gov for additional information pertaining to this RFI. 

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION COVER ATTACHMENTS 

1: Draft PWS 

2: PDF of the RFI Response Form is provided to assist with preparing RFI responses prior to submitting them in accordance with the Submission Instructions section of the RFI.