Icon was born and raised in Rochester, New York, where he started training at eight weeks of age to become a guide dog for the blind. His early training included basic obedience, socialization and exposure to situations like airline travel, getting on and off of buses, negotiating city traffic, and …
Since its inception, the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) has focused on recruiting search dog candidates from shelters, breed rescue groups, and other individuals or organizations. Our canine recruiters evaluate these dogs, and if they fit within our criteria, we accept them into the program, care for them, …
Marc and his littermates, Doc and Mocha, were born on March 22, 1999. The three chocolate Labradors were initially candidates for the Guide Dogs of America (GDA) program—but they all had too much energy to be Guide Dogs. It was very unusual for GDA to have so many puppies from …
German Shepherd Maverick was born in New Mexico on July 23, 2002. His owner, Karen, thought he would make a great search and rescue dog because he was energetic, bold, and determined. Karen donated this high-energy canine to the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF). Upon his arrival …
Buddy was originally named “Happy” and donated to SDF by the organization, Butte Sink Retrievers. Born on June 6, 1997, Buddy entered our search dog training program as a young adult and was eventually partnered with handler Kelly Gordon. A San Diego area police officer, Kelly was a member of …
It was with great sadness that the Search Dog Foundation (SDF) family said goodbye to Search Dog Jazz last week as he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. After seven years with his handler Luis Garcia, and 11 deployments as part of Baja California Task Force 3, Jazz was a wonderful ambassador for …
Sherman, a male chocolate Labrador born in March of 1996, began his life’s journey as a family dog. After just a short time with that family, they found Sherman’s energy and tenacity to be overwhelming, and decided they could not keep him. Diana Davis, who routinely looks for dogs that …
Manny, a male Border Collie, was born December 6, 1996. He was purchased by Bobbie Farquhar, the head of Border Collie Rescue (BCR), as a stud dog. But during his stay with BCR, he displayed all the characteristics of a disaster search dog. Bobbie called the Search Dog Foundation (SDF) …
