Team Info
Task Force: Nebraska Task Force 1 (NE-TF1)
Level: Certified
Search Dog Info
Breed: Border Collie
Sex: Female
Born: April 22, 2016
Recruited from Haven Humane Society in Anderson, CA
Recruited by Kirsten Fulk
Sponsor: The Joel and Dena Gambord Family
Animal control in Northern California picked up Flyer as a stray and took her to Haven Humane Society in Anderson, CA. No one ever came to claim Flyer, making this Border Collie mix available for adoption.
Since Haven Humane Society employees were very familiar with characteristics SDF looks for in potential candidates, Flyer’s excitement for a ball stood out and a staff member immediately reached out to SDF Canine Recruiter Kirsten Fulk to come and evaluate Flyer. When Kirsten met this spunky candidate, she decided to name her Flyer after watching her jump straight into the air every time she tried to get to the ball. We agreed the name suited her as well, so Flyer became her permanent name! Flyer always seemed to be smiling when she arrived at SDF, and her one floppy ear gives her a little added character.
After many months spent training here at the NTC, earning the affection of trainers, staff, and volunteers, our star student, Flyer, was paired with veteran Handler Laura Denison of Nebraska Task Force 1 at SDF’s July Handler Course. Laura, a reserve police officer in Des Moines Iowa since 2000, has been handling working canines and training wilderness/trailing search and rescue dogs for 24 years in the Midwest, working with NE-TF 1 since 2008. As her twice-FEMA-certified search dog readied for retirement, she became eager and excited to get a new search dog with the Search Dog Foundation to continue her service to the nation.
Flyer was bonding with Laura beautifully throughout the two-week course as she generalized all her skills and quickly acclimated to Laura’s every move and technique. Laura and Flyer already had a great rapport in their first weeks after pairing—Laura’s voice transitions nicely from firm instruction to a friendly, calming baby talk when they play. In turn, Flyer gives out her distinctive snorts when tugging after a job well done—a clear sign that she is immensely enjoying the search game! Despite her sciatica injury and a delayed graduation to allow her to fully recover, Flyer’s journey to become a search dog has been worth the wait as these two make a truly wonderful search team!
An unstoppable duo, these two first certified together in 2019 and spent years attending additional training across the country and maintaining deployment readiness. Together, they recertified on June 11, 2022.
On June 21, 2022, Laura Denison & Flyer and Scott Hofstetter & Amber recertified just in time for deployment! They were sent with two additional non-SDF canine members of their team to search for a missing employee at a silo after it had collapsed. The silos were scheduled to be demolished in weeks and employees were preparing the property when the collapse occurred.
Though sadly, rescuers did not get the result they always hope for, our handlers were proud to be there to assist in the search and reported that their canine partners did well. Laura shared via text, “Flyer and Amber did amazing work…they really, truly were awesome.”
Since 2019, Flyer and Laura have deployed on the following missions:
- June 22, 2022 – Structure Collapse – Yarmouth, IA
- May 28, 2023 – Building Collapse – Davenport, IA
- May 22, 2024 – Tornado – Greenfield, IA
We’re so grateful to have this team standing by, ready to respond at a moment’s notice, and we look forward to seeing what they achieve in the future!