On the morning of August 28, 2020, six canine disaster search teams graduated from SDF’s Handler Course. The handlers completed the course despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, observing distancing and safety protocols throughout their two-week stay on campus. The graduating class was a combination of four brand new handlers from …
Four SDF-trained search teams—Marshia Hall & Lilah (Florida Task Force 4), Patti Krafft & Billy (Texas Task Force 1), Lee Culley & Tommy and Roxanne Bauman & Cole (both Utah Task Force 1)—deployed to the Gulf Coast in response to Hurricane Laura. These teams joined task forces from throughout the …
The Summer 2020 edition of our Bark Alert magazine is en route to your mailbox! While you’re getting ready to flip through the pages, read the digital version here and enjoy some highlights of our year and a very important milestone in Search Dog Foundation history. From deployment recaps to …
Just before 8 p.m. on June 18, 2020, Handler Eric Darling received a call from the Ventura County Fire Department to assist in confirming no one was left behind after a fire in a drainage pipe in Santa Paula, CA. The tube is a space known to be used as …
As an accomplished escape artist, Elvis was notorious in his previous family’s neighborhood. After a neighbor threatened the life of the wandering Chocolate Lab, Elvis’ family decided they had to give him up. Elvis arrived at Santa Barbara Animal Care and Control in Santa Maria, CA in April of 2008 …
Rosa, a black Labrador Retriever, came to the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) in 1999 from a local Ojai, California breeder, Liz Harward. Liz wanted to help SDF and knew her dog lines were full of bold, driven canines, a perfect match for our program. Rosa was fostered by …
Around 4:40 am on Thursday, May 7, 2020, Alameda County Fire Department responded to a commercial building explosion in San Leandro. SDF-trained Search Dog Gunner’s handler, Alex Mengell, was requested by the department to respond and confirm no one left behind inside the building after it exploded. Arriving first responders …
