Tanker came to the Search Dog Foundation in an unusual way. Formerly known as “Tank,” this beautiful Lab was donated to the Search Dog Foundation by his previous Handler, Adam Cooper, of Colorado Task Force 1, in the fall of 2011. Adam and Tanker had not yet certified together and …
VC Star | Thomas Fire damages search dog training center in Santa Paula; canines are OK
FINAL UPDATE – THE SEARCH DOGS ARE HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS! FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22 – 1:00 PM When we evacuated from our National Training Center (NTC) campus on the night of December 4, we weren’t sure if we would have a home to come back to after the devastating Thomas …
Bonnie and her sister Clyde, purebred Labrador Retrievers, were born on October 12, 2003. Although they were littermates, their personalities couldn’t have been more different. Clyde responded to training, but Bonnie’s future was on thin ice. Bonnie’s owner, Becky Rutledge, feared that Bonnie might ultimately land in a shelter. Bonnie’s …
The phrase “perfect storm” is used quite often to describe moments when many seemingly unrelated things come together to create a unique, challenging, and memorable event. Here at SDF, this past month and a half has been quite literally a storm, with four major disasters rocking communities throughout North America.
More than half of our active SDF-trained Search Teams from across the country deployed for multiple hurricanes and a massive earthquake. At the same time, SDF officially opened the gates of the National Training Center (NTC) on September 23, an event that was planned long before doppler radar warned us of the storms.
Even while we celebrated this major milestone, our hearts continued to go out to those affected by these disasters, many of whom will be recovering from the impact for years to come. At our Grand Opening we took a moment of silence to think of those in need and to honor all those who deployed to help in the aftermath, both two- and four-legged.
Each of these events – from the SDF Teams serving in four major deployments to the opening of the NTC – is a testament to the ability of our SDF Family, including you, to advance our life-saving mission.
Thank you for being with us every step of the way and for being Part of the Search!
—The SDF Staff
On November 3rd, SDF’s training team passed the leashes of four Search Dogs to their brand new Firefighter-Handlers (L to R above): Aide Barbat & Fender (San Diego Fire-Rescue), Clint Schepe & Georgia (Chula Vista Fire), Joe Zakar & Dora (San Diego Fire-Rescue), all with California Task Force 8, and …
On the evening of Friday, October 27, Search Teams with New York Task Force 2 responded to the call of a missing hunter in Richmondville, NY. The teams, Brian Girard & Keila and Greg Gould & Dax, split into two search parties – each taking one SDF Handler Candidate with …
Charity Carlson has raised service dogs for the disabled for many years. While she loves training service dogs and plans to continue this work, she was looking for something more challenging to do. She contacted the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) to inquire about becoming a Prep Home volunteer, …
Congratulations to SDF’s three veteran Canine Disaster Search Teams who achieved FEMA Certification on October 21: Brent Brainard & Decker, Linda D’Orsi & Haley, and Julie Padelford-Jansen & Ricochet! SDF Program Manager Debra Tosch was in College Station, TX, to support SDF’s Search Teams testing and shared that all three …
Charity Carlson had raised service dogs for the disabled for many years. While she loved training service dogs and planned to continue this work, she was looking for something more challenging to do in 2003. She contacted the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) to inquire about becoming a Prep …
