Josie & Brandon Budd

Josie & Brandon Budd

 

Team Info

 

Task Force: California Task Force 7 (CA-TF7)
Agency: City of Sacramento Fire
Level: DHS/FEMA Certified
Most Recent Certification: June 18, 2022

Search Dog Info

Breed: Black Lab Mix
Sex: Female
Born: July 5, 2013
Recruited from: Lassen County Animal Services – Susanville, CA
Recruited by: Penny Woodruff
Sponsor: Susan Kemper
Guardian: Judy Ross
Named in Honor of: Josie Willett

Previously named Sequoia, this ball-obsessed Black Lab was recruited for SDF’s program by longtime volunteer Penny Woodruff in March of 2014. Penny received a call from a staff member at Lassen Animal Control in Susanville, CA who thought she had identified a potential Search Dog candidate for SDF’s training program. Sequoia had been surrendered to the shelter by her owner, a local farmer, who said she was not well-suited for farm life and hoped a Lab rescue would be able to find a good home for her.

The day after she received the call, Penny drove through terrible weather to evaluate Josie. Despite gusty winds, rain and sleet, Penny decided that she had observed all the traits SDF looks for in a canine candidate and adopted her immediately. Penny says that through the bad conditions, Sequoia “stood on her back legs, ball in mouth, just as happy as could be… (she was) driven, focused and loving the game.”  As Penny observed over the next few days, Sequoia had great Search Dog potential, saying, “I knew we had a winner in her. I have to say she was the hardest for me to give up.  She just has a special gentleness about her that wins your heart over.”  

Upon arriving at SDF’s National Training Center, she was renamed “Josie” in honor of neighbor and longtime friend Josie Willett, and has proven herself to be every bit as wonderful a Search Dog candidate as Penny predicted. By Thanksgiving 2014, SDF Trainer Emily Fisk reported on Josie’s progress that, “She has gotten very good at direction and control and… is doing longer and more complex patterns and does very well despite the difficulty. Josie really enjoys working! She did beautifully on multiple victim building searches.”

Josie graduated in February of 2015 and is paired with her partner, Brandon Budd.

Brandon is a firefighter in Sacramento, CA on Task Force 7. Josie and Brandon are a perfect match, as Brandon says. They trained diligently and achieved FEMA Certification in September of 2015, making them eligible to deploy when disaster strikes!