Team Info
Task Force: California Task Force 5 (CA-TF5)
Agency: Orange County Fire Authority
Level: DHS/FEMA Certified
Most Recent Certification: March 4, 2017
Search Dog Info
Breed: Border Collie Mix
Sex: Male
Born: March 26, 2006
Recruited from: High Sierra Animal Rescue – Portola, CA
Recruited by: Penny Woodruff
Sponsors: Nutro Products, Inc.
Guardians: Martha Deming
In April of 2007, a call came in to the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation office about a potential canine candidate. It was Penny Woodruff, a volunteer and foster home for the non-profit High Sierra Animal Rescue (HSAR) in Portola, CA. Penny had previously rescued SDF search dog Zoey. Now she had pulled a Border Collie mix out of a shelter and wanted us to take a look at him. Because of his unique facial markings, she had dubbed him “Jester.”
Penny said of Jester, “He was turned in to the animal shelter by his owner, who said he was giving him up because Jester kept jumping the fence. At only one year old, Jester was on the euthanasia list, and we (HSAR) took him because we knew we could save him and find him a new home. We had him for weeks, and everyone thought he was so cute, but he had an abundance of energy! And he could just fly over a seven-foot fence with no problem. He was so proud of being an escape artist and had such a great attitude, that we all just fell in love with him. He made us smile…he’s so great.”
“Jester was a sure-footed, bold, friendly Aussie-border collie mix. After playing with him again one afternoon, I got to see first-hand how focused he could be. I accidentally threw a tug toy kind of crooked and he lost sight of it. He kept looking for it until he found it and I was impressed by his dedication. I knew I had to call SDF,” Penny recalls.
SDF handler Jason Cornell, a Firefighter/Paramedic with the Sacramento Metro Fire Department, had also acquired his canine partner, the aforementioned Zoey, with help from HSAR. During a visit to High Sierra with Zoey, Jason tested Jester and recognized some extraordinary attributes. He agreed to transport Jester to Gilroy so he could begin his search and rescue training at Sundowners, which was where SDF’s training kennel was at the time. Almost immediately, SDF staff and trainers realized that Jester enjoyed being noticed. Without a doubt, he has distinctive and quite attractive markings – and he knows it! He was nicknamed “Mr. Hollywood,” because he loved a photo-op!
Sundowners’ trainer Kate Davern said, “At first, it was hard to get Jester to bark at the ‘victim.’ But once he understood what he was supposed to do, he ended up being a really noisy dog!” According to Karen Klingberg, SDF’s then Canine Manager, “He is the only dog they’ve had at the SDF training facility in Gilroy that refuses to stay in his kennel. Jester once scaled the 6-foot-tall wall of his kennel to visit another of his fellow trainees. After that, they had to keep a close eye on him.”
After months of training at Sundowners Kennel, Jester was ready to be partnered with firefighter Davis Doty of Orange County Fire Authority. Jester went home to Yorba Linda, CA with Davis in December of 2007 and was swiftly incorporated into his family and work life.
The team achieved Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Certification in September of 2008, which enables them to deploy with their fire department or task force anywhere disaster may strike in the United States. The team then Re-Certified in June 2011, February 2014, and most recently March 2017! Each team must test every three years to maintain deployment-ready status. It is truly incredible that Davis and Jester have achieved Certification four times in their careers, as rarely is a canine physically up to the task. But to see Jester on the rubble pile, you would think he is a dog half his age. His ability to traverse shifting surfaces beneath his feet and fly over rubble at his age is remarkable! It truly reinforces that Jester is doing what he was put on this Earth to do.
The team has deployed once so far, when a man went missing in Laguna Beach, CA, in 2009. And they did help find the man and bring him to safety! Davis told us after, “A big learning point for me after that search was how effective a canine can be. Prior to Jester and me starting our search helicopter HD and FLIR cameras were used to find our lost victim with no luck. It does not matter how many resources and specialized technical tools are used there will always be a need for a live find search canine.”
When Davis & Jester are not standing by, ready to assist to those in need following a disaster, they are SDF ambassadors and the faces of The Nutro Company’s Natural Choice High Endurance formula dog food. You may find them on bags of this brand of food, in stores across the country.
We are very proud of what Davis and Jester have already achieved in their careers and looking forward to seeing what the future holds.