Team Info
Task Force: California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2)
Agency: Los Angeles County Fire
Level: Certified
Search Dog Info
Breed: Black Lab Mix
Sex: Male
Born: October 28, 2014
Recruited from: Rescue Ranch Inc. – Yreka, CA
Recruited by: Kirsten Fulk
Sponsors: Alex & Joyce Carasa
Like so many of SDF’s search dogs, Shadow was picked up as a stray and his owners never came to claim him. He ended up at Rescue Ranch in Yreka, CA, where staff noticed he had characteristics SDF looks for in candidates for our program. A black Lab named Vader had also been recruited from Rescue Ranch and gone on to a successful career as a search dog, so staff knew what to look for in a potential search candidate. The director contacted SDF Canine Recruiter Kirsten Fulk when he noticed the potential in this young dog.
Kirsten made the trip from her home in Oregon to Yreka and adopted Shadow when the black Shepherd mix did a terrific job passing an evaluation. Kirsten drove Shadow down to SDF’s National Training Center in Santa Paula, CA, in May 2016. He did great when tested by SDF trainers as well and began search and rescue training right away.
Within a few short weeks, trainers reported, “He LOVES to bark! We have him barking multiple times for the toy and have been focusing on getting loud deep barks out of him. Shadow is doing great!” Shadow was a fun dog to work with and progressed very nicely in the program.
After spending time working together during SDF’s Handler Training Program, Shadow was paired with Captain Robert George of the Los Angeles County Fire Department on January 20, 2017.
Shadow and Bob continue to train regularly, building the canine-human bond essential to their work. They most recently achieved FEMA certification in October 2020, which enables them to deploy with California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2) when a disaster occurs anywhere in the world.
This team was called on to respond with their task force when a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey, Syria, and the surrounding region early on February 6, 2023. They spent two weeks overseas helping with rescue efforts until returning home to share lessons learned.
In November 2023, Shadow re-certified with FEMA once again to retain his active search dog status. The team continues to train regularly and is ready for the next time the call comes!