Team Info
Task Force: California Task Force 7 (CA-TF7)
Agency: Sacramento Fire Department
Level: Certified
Search Dog Info
Breed: Yellow Lab
Sex: Male
Born: September 30, 2015
Recruited from Second Chance Pups
Recruited by Sheila Stern
Named by the Grace Ford Salvatori Foundation
Named in Memory of Hank Salvatori
Hank began SDF’s training program in May 2017. His potential was spotted by Sheila Stern, an SDF Canine Recruiter (and now handler), who had been identifying dogs with career potential in different disciplines for many years. She discovered Hank at Second Chance Pups, an organization based in Lincoln, Nebraska, that selects dogs from surrounding area shelters and rescues to be trained in basic obedience by inmates at Nebraska State Penitentiary. The dogs learn to become household pets less likely to be returned to the shelter system, and the inmates get to learn a skill and give back to society.
Sheila learned that Hank had, in fact, been one of those dogs cycling in and out of shelters, adopted only to be returned because his energy was too high for the average pet owner to handle. Sheila told us early on, “He will do excited barking, chew up or drag around anything he can get his mouth on…he is a fun-loving bundle of energy. He is a big lug that you can’t help but like.” But those characteristics that make these dogs so difficult for most owners are exactly what makes them wonderful search dogs!
Hank spent six months with SDF’s training staff at our National Training Center before being paired with Sacramento firefighter/paramedic Vincent Fuccella on November 3, 2017. As members of California Task Force 7 (CA-TF7), the team trained daily in preparation for certification with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which enables them to deploy when disasters strike.
Since those first days together, Hank and Vinnie achieved FEMA certification in Riverside, CA, in October 2018 and June 2022. They continue to train weekly with CA-TF7 teammates to keep their skills sharp and remain deployment-ready.