Sportsman Channel’s “Saving Private K-9” Features Canine Purple Heart Recipient – Thursday, May 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

NEW BERLIN, WI (May 11, 2015) – This week, Sportsman Channel’s Saving Private K-9, takes viewers on a journey to one of the most lethal cities in Afghanistan while telling the story of Drak, a drug-sniffing dog in the United States Marine Corps and Purple Heart recipient and his handler, Retired Marine Corps Sergeant Kenneth Fischer. During the team’s third deployment a routine patrol turned into one of their most dangerous missions.

Tune in to award-winning original series Saving Private K-9 on Thursday, May 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT exclusively on Sportsman Channel.

 After two deployments, Drak and Sgt. Fischer knew it was possible to get through almost any challenging situation while on deployment together. The team was presented with their next mission to one of the most dangerous cities in Afghanistan, but Sgt. Fischer was hopeful he and his loyal canine partner would be successful. Once the duo entered Sangin, all began as planned and the locals welcomed them to the area. But in a dangerous turn of events, a suicide bomber drove through camp. What happened next would test their bond and ability to overcome adversity like never before.

“I got a phone call from our kennel master telling me that there was a request for a drug dog in Sangin, and he needed me to go,” explained Fischer. “So that phone call felt like I got punched or kicked in the gut. It was a huge eerie feeling, because at that time Sangin was the most kinetic place that there was in-country. It was like no other feeling I had ever had before.”

About Pilgrim Studios: Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Studios produces a wide variety of unscripted and scripted programming for television, including hit series Fast N’ Loud, Misfit Garage and Street Outlaws for Discovery; Ghost Hunters for Syfy; The Ultimate Fighter for FOX Sports 1; Down East Dickering for History; Swamp Pawn for CMT; Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s and Raising Whitley for OWN; David Tutera’s CELEBrations for WEtv; Wicked Tuna and Wicked Tuna: North vs. South for National Geographic Channel; Amazing America with Sarah Palin and Saving Private K-9 for Sportsman Channel; Bring It! for Lifetime; Somebody’s Gotta Do It with Mike Rowe for CNN; and the recently launched My Big Fat Fabulous Life for TLC. The company also produced the breakout movie Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives for Discovery’s 2013 Shark Week, as well as the movie Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine and the special Megalodon: The New Evidence for the channel’s Shark Week 2014. In the scripted realm, Pilgrim has produced the pilot Recovery Road ABC Family, recently picked up for a full season. The company’s original movies for Lifetime include Amanda Knox: Murder On Trial In Italy; Abducted: The Carlina White Story, which earned a 2012 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing In A Motion Picture; and the crime thriller Stalkers.

About Sportsman Channel: Launched in 2003, Sportsman Channel/Sportsman HD is a television and digital media company fully devoted to honoring a lifestyle that is celebrated by millions of Americans. A division of Outdoor Sportsman Group, Sportsman Channel delivers entertaining and informative programming that showcases outdoor adventure, hunting and fishing, and illustrates it through unique and authentic storytelling. Sportsman Channel embraces the attitude of “Red, Wild & Blue America” – where the American Spirit and Great Outdoors are celebrated in equal measure. Sportsman Channel reaches more than 36 million U.S. television households. Stay connected to Sportsman Channel online at thesportsmanchannel.com, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Shannon Kolpin, Sportsman Channel, P: 262.432.9100 ex 102, skolpin@thesportsmanchannel.com