Team Info
Task Force: California Task Force 3 (CA-TF3)
Agency: San Francisco Fire
Level: DHS/FEMA Certified
Most Recent Certification: April 14, 2019
Search Dog Info
Breed: Black Lab
Sex: Male
Born: January 1, 2013
Recruited from: Rescue Ranch Inc. – Yreka, CA
Recruited by: Kirsten Fulk, Field of Dreams Boarding and Training Kennel
Sponsors: The Joel and Dena Gambord Charitable Foundation
Vader, a stocky Black Lab, was originally living at the Rescue Ranch in Yreka, CA. The staff there knew he needed a job but were not quite sure how to get him “hired.”
When the Rescue Ranch called SDF, Canine Recruitment Manager Darrell Wilkerson immediately put them in touch with regional SDF Canine Recruiter Kirsten Fulk, from Field of Dreams Kennel in Sweet Home, OR. Kirsten had already been on the road, transporting Search Dog candidates Minnie and Fritz to SDF’s National Training Center for their evaluation. So Kirsten stopped at Rescue Ranch on her way back home to Oregon and she LOVED what she saw in Vader!
When Kirsten returned to her kennel, she ran Vader on the rubble pile and after a full evaluation, she determined that the staff at Rescue Ranch was exactly right – he definitely needed a job and he was darn good at searching!
Though she had just returned from transporting Minnie and Fritz, Kirsten packed up again and returned to the National Training Center with new candidates Vader and his traveling companion, Buck. After SDF Master Trainer Sonja Heritage evaluated the two dogs in a formal evaluation, she accepted them both into Search Dog training on the spot.
Vader did very well in each stage of his Search Dog training and will graduate and was partnered with firefighter-handler, Eli Thomas of California Task Force 3 (CA-TF3), in September 2015. The team worked hard and achieved FEMA Certification on March 6, 2016, which enables them to deploy with CA-TF3 when disasters occur.
In September 2017, Eli and Vader received their first deployment when they were deployed for Hurricane Irma which hit Florida and the Virgin Islands causing devastating and wide spread damage. Eli and Vader were one of sixteen SDF-trained canine search teams to respond in order to reunite missing people with their loved ones. They spent nearly two weeks on the East Coast assisting citizens there.
One year later, in September 2018 Eli and Vader were deployed ahead of Hurricane Olivia and sent to Hawaii where they were able to stage, ready to assist with any searches should the need arise.
We look forward to watching this team continue their work and dedication to search rescue!