Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Breunig.
Hi Cody, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My path to founding Black Dog Forensics wasn’t a sudden pivot or a single defining moment. It was the result of nearly two decades of service and investigation, shaped by a consistent calling to serve others and protect the truth.
I come from a family where service wasn’t talked about, it was lived every day. Both of my grandfathers served in the military, and my father devoted thirty years of his life to law enforcement as both a SWAT officer and homicide detective. That example set a standard early on. As a teenager, I found structure and purpose through the Boy Scouts, ultimately earning the rank of Eagle Scout. At seventeen, in 2005, I enlisted in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Soldier. That experience reinforced discipline, accountability, and the reality that difficult decisions often carry real consequences.
After completing my military service, I transitioned into law enforcement, where my investigative career truly began. Early on, I was fortunate to be placed in many complex and high-pressure situations that required sound judgment and calm decision-making. Those experiences led to recognition including Officer of the Year in Victoria, Texas, along with several departmental and regional awards for investigative and critical-incident work. I was promoted to Detective, where my work became increasingly focused on crimes involving children—cases that are mentally taxing and demand precision, emotional control, and an unwavering commitment to doing things the right way.
During that time, I helped build and lead the Victoria Police Department Cyber Crimes Unit and worked with multiple task forces, including the Texas Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the United States Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force. I completed thousands of hours of specialized training in digital forensics, cellular forensics, and ethical hacking through programs at institutions such as the National Computer Forensics Institute, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), and various private training organizations around the world.
Eventually, I transitioned from public service into the private sector, continuing my work in digital forensics. While the setting changed, the mission did not. I have always believed deeply in protecting children, safeguarding individual rights, and honoring a principle that is sometimes forgotten: everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Truth matters, especially when the stakes are high. That belief is what ultimately led to the creation of Black Dog Forensics.
Black Dog Forensics was founded in Houston, Texas, and today provides digital forensic services across the United States and, in certain matters, internationally. The firm was built to retrieve the truth carefully, ethically, and without hidden agendas. While state and federal agencies often have access to top-tier forensic resources and investigators, local and rural law enforcement agencies, criminal defense attorneys, civil litigators, and businesses frequently do not. Black Dog Forensics exists to help close that gap.
Along the way, life continued to grow alongside the business. I’m a father of four, and that perspective reinforces why this work matters. Beyond casework and clients, Black Dog Forensics supports families overseas in efforts to combat human trafficking, has completely funded the construction of a church in a region impacted by child exploitation and trafficking, and continues to pursue ways to serve beyond the courtroom. A long-term personal and company goal is to build and fund an orphanage within the next five years to directly support vulnerable children. It’s an ambitious goal, but one that deserves to be pursued.
I’ve also continued my education, earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Texas A&M University, not as credentials for their own sake, but to ensure I can lead responsibly, build sustainably, and protect the standard the work demands.
At its core, Black Dog Forensics exists to serve by protecting and retrieving the truth, providing clarity, and helping people make informed decisions when it matters most. Since founding the firm, I’ve seen our work impact hundreds—if not thousands—of lives through cases that have exonerated, convicted, or simply revealed the truth so the right decisions could be made. That commitment to truth, service, and responsibility is what brought me here and continues to guide where we’re going.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth road, and I’m thankful for that. There’s an old saying that most have probably heard at one point or another: “A smooth sea never makes a skilled sailor,” and that has proven true throughout my career. The challenges, uncertainty, and pressure were what shaped my judgment and reinforced my commitment to service.
One of the most challenging realities was building Black Dog Forensics from nothing. The company was entirely bootstrapped. There was no outside funding, no safety net, and no margin for error. Early on, it often meant stretching already nonexistent resources, making personal sacrifices, and taking calculated risks just to keep moving forward. Like most founders, I had to figure out how to rub two pennies together to make a dollar, all while refusing to compromise on quality or ethics. That phase also came with plenty of sleepless nights and, unfortunately, the early arrival of a few gray hairs.
Those financial pressures didn’t just disappear. Risk is still part of the work. Growth requires reinvestment, patience, and a willingness to carry responsibility long before rewards appear. When those rewards do appear they’re often directed back into the team and the work before anything else. Choosing to build slowly and correctly, rather than quickly and loosely, wasn’t the easiest path, but it was the right one.
Beyond the financial side, there were other challenges that came with leaving public service and stepping into the private sector. In law enforcement, structure and resources are built in. In the private world of startups, everything from processes and infrastructure to accountability has to be built from the ground up while maintaining the same ethical standards and product output.
There has also been the emotional weight of the work itself. Many of the cases we handle involve children, families in crisis, or individuals facing life-altering consequences. Learning how to build a company while leading a team through that kind of work without burning people out, lowering standards, or losing perspective has been one of the most difficult and important lessons thus far.
Looking back, none of those challenges were setbacks. Each lesson became a teacher for the next problem to solve. They were shaping points that forced clarity, discipline, and humility. Building something meaningful isn’t easy, and if it were, everyone would do it. The road hasn’t been smooth, but it has been full of lessons – lessons that have made both me and the firm better equipped to serve the people who rely on us.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Black Dog Forensics?
Black Dog Forensics is a digital forensics and investigations firm built to retrieve the truth carefully, ethically, and without agenda. At its core, digital forensics is the examination of digital devices and data—phones, computers, servers, and online accounts—to understand what actually happened. Every click, message, and interaction can leave a trail. Our role is to interpret that data responsibly, place it in the proper context, and explain it clearly. We work at the intersection of technology, law, and accountability, helping attorneys, organizations, and individuals understand what digital evidence does or does not show.
Our work spans criminal defense, civil litigation, corporate matters, and public-sector investigations. We specialize in computer and mobile device forensics, phone and vehicle mapping, cloud and network investigations, cyber-related matters, and cases involving complex or sensitive digital evidence. There is no real boundary to how digital devices intersect with our daily lives, and as a result, much of our work focuses on understanding how those interactions help explain what has or has not happened. Many of the matters we handle involve high-stakes cases where outcomes impact liberty, reputation, families, or the future of a business, and we treat that responsibility accordingly.
What sets Black Dog Forensics apart isn’t a single tool or technique, but how we approach the work. We are process-driven, evidence-focused, and deliberately disciplined. We don’t advocate for outcomes, and we don’t stretch conclusions. We follow the evidence where it leads while respecting the legal frameworks and boundaries that govern how evidence is obtained and interpreted. That means we often identify errors, gaps, or overreach on the government’s side. We communicate our findings clearly so decision-makers can act on facts, not assumptions. That restraint is intentional, and it’s one of the reasons attorneys and courts trust our work.
Another defining aspect of our firm is accessibility. State and federal agencies often have access to extensive forensic resources, but local and rural law enforcement agencies, criminal defense attorneys, civil litigators, and small to mid-sized organizations frequently do not. Black Dog Forensics exists to help close that gap by providing high-quality forensic expertise that is practical, defensible, and grounded in real-world investigative experience. This work is often provided at reduced or public-defender-level rates to ensure our expertise remains accessible to those who truly need it.
From a brand perspective, what I’m most proud of is consistency to our clients and values. We don’t chase volume, trends, or headlines. We hold a standard both internally and externally and we protect it. That shows up in how we train, how we document our work, how we testify, and how we treat both clients and opposing parties. The work is serious, and we approach it that way.
Black Dog Forensics is also deeply rooted in service. Beyond casework, the firm supports efforts to combat human trafficking, assists families overseas, and invests in initiatives that protect vulnerable populations. Those efforts aren’t marketing initiatives. They’re an extension of why the firm exists in the first place.
What I want readers to know most is that Black Dog Forensics isn’t about technology for technology’s sake. It’s about responsibility. Digital evidence is powerful, but it’s also easy to misunderstand or misuse. Our role is to slow things down, protect the integrity of the evidence, and provide clarity when it matters most.
At the end of the day, our reputation isn’t just built on what we say, but also on how we work. We protect the process, tell the truth of what the evidence shows, and take seriously the trust placed in us. That’s what Black Dog Forensics stands for, and that’s what we continue to build every day.
How do you think about happiness?
That’s a difficult question, because I don’t think of happiness as a fixed state or something to be chased. For a lot of people happiness is often framed as a destination, a mood, or a reward. For me it is a choice that comes from living a satisfying life that is filled with purpose and alignment both personally and professionally. When the work I’m doing inside the home and outside reflect my values and serves something larger I find that happiness shows up as a byproduct, not a goal.
Personally, happiness comes from my family. Being a father, being present, and watching my children grow grounds everything else I do. It provides perspective and reinforces why the work matters in the first place. Time spent with family reminds me that success isn’t measured only by outcomes or growth, but by whether you’re showing up where it counts most.
Professionally, I find real satisfaction in doing difficult work the right way. Helping bring clarity to complex situations, protecting the integrity of evidence, and knowing that our work can meaningfully impact people’s lives, sometimes at their most critical moments, is deeply fulfilling. I don’t take lightly the trust clients, attorneys, and courts place in us, and earning that trust through disciplined, ethical work is something that continues to motivate me.
I also find happiness in service beyond the day-to-day by supporting efforts that protect vulnerable people, investing in others, and contributing to causes that don’t come with recognition. Those moments reaffirm purpose in a way that professional milestones never quite can.
At the end of the day, happiness isn’t about ease, comfort, or living a hedonistic lifestyle. Rather, happiness is a conscious choice. It comes from responsibility, progress, and knowing that the time and effort you’re giving are aligned with who you are and what you believe in.
Pricing:
- Most engagements begin with an initial consultation to understand scope, urgency, and objectives before any work is performed.
- Matters are typically billed hourly or structured as flat-fee engagements, depending on complexity and needs
- Retainers are commonly required for investigative and forensic work, with billing applied against that retainer.
- Reduced or public-defender-level rates may be available in qualifying cases to ensure access to forensic expertise.
- Pricing varies based on scope, data volume, technical complexity, and required turnaround time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bdforensics.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackdogforensics/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackdogforensics/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/black-dog-forensics/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BLKDOGFORENSICS
