Team Info
Task Force: California Task Force 3 (CA-TF3)
Agency: San Francisco Fire Department
Level: Certified
Search Dog Info
Breed: Black Labrador
Sex: Male
Born: December 16, 2018
Recruited from Dogs for Better Lives
Bosco is a littermate of SDF search dogs Bond and Bonus and comes to us from service dog organization, Dogs for Better Lives (DBL) in Central Point, Oregon. Similar to his brothers, Bosco did not make the cut as a service dog with DBL due to his high energy level, so DBL contacted SDF, and sure enough, Bosco was a great fit for a career in search and rescue! This lovable Labrador loves interacting with people and seems to truly love every new experience, which helped him quickly progress through his training.
On May 12, 2022, Bosco was partnered with Firefighter Joshua Davis of the San Francisco Fire Department and California Task Force 3 (CA-TF3).
As a child, Josh wanted to be a firefighter but worked as a personal trainer and an emergency department technician before becoming a first responder. Josh started thinking about becoming a canine handler while working as a paramedic and meeting a search dog from California Task Force 4, based in Oakland. He heard about SDF through CA-TF3 in San Francisco and applied to become a Canine Search Specialist with them.
Josh originally worked with search dog Dempsey and was on his way to partnering with him when Dempsey suffered some lameness and needed to have surgery. Dempsey came back to SDF for surgical intervention and rehab, and Josh began working with Bosco instead. Josh says that after some adjustment and boundary setting at home and at the firehouse, Bosco began learning to trust him and work well with him as a team.
Bosco and Josh achieved FEMA certification to deploy on missions with CA-TF3 in November 2022. They continue to train regularly with the Northern California teams in preparation for deployment.
We are proud of them both and look forward to celebrating all their career milestones together!