Team Info
Task Force: California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2)
Agency: Los Angeles County Fire
Level: Certified (HRD)
Most Recent Certification: July 8, 2022
Search Dog Info
Breed: Black Lab
Sex: Female
Born: August 2, 2016
Recruited from the Humane Society of the Black Hills in Rapid City, SD
Recruited by the South Dakota Canine Center
Sponsor: Nanci Denney Bergin and Nicole Lallande, and an anonymous donor
Harper was one of 22 dogs confiscated from a hoarding and neglect case and placed with the Humane Society of the Black Hills in South Dakota. Once the dogs arrived, the shelter staff quickly contacted Search Dog Foundation Recruiters Kellee and Tim Matthews, who spent four days evaluating the new dogs. Out of the whole group, they determined that Harper, an adorable black lab mix, and Tobias, a German Shorthaired Pointer mix, showed great potential for becoming a disaster search dog. Harper and Tobias made the trek to SDF’s training center with Recruiter Marco Osorio and two additional canine recruits on a cross-country road trip to California.
Harper was selected to participate in a pilot program in which SDF trained four canines on Human Remains scent detection, which is on the recovery side of a mission, rather than Live-Find, which is on the rescue side and for what SDF has always historically trained search dogs.
On May 28, 2022, Harper graduated from SDF’s training program and was paired with firefighter Edward Ruiz of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The department is rostered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as California Task Force 2 to assist with disaster missions nationwide. They are also one of two U.S. task forces that can deploy globally with the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.
The team trained together regularly with their task force teammates and achieved FEMA certification in July 2022. This allows them to deploy with their task force, and they will be re-evaluated every three years. To date, Harper and Ed have deployed on the following missions:
- August 29, 2022 – Structure Fire – Montebello, CA
- September 25, 2022 – Hurricane Ian – Florida
- August 12, 2023 – Maui Wildfire – Lahaina, HI
- January 19, 2024 – Missing Person Search – Mount Wilson, CA
- June 21, 2024 – Wildfires – New Mexico
Harper and Ed must pursue new training opportunities as frequently as possible to stay prepared for real-world disasters. So until the next call comes, Harper and Ed will continue to train weekly and keep their skills sharp.