Team Info
Task Force: California Task Force 8 (CA-TF8)
Agency: Chula Vista Fire
Level: FEMA Certified
Search Dog Info
Breed: German Shorthaired Pointer
Sex: Female
Born: July 15, 2015
Recruited from the Union County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control
Recruited by Greg Strickland
Sponsors: Jeff & Mary Kroll
Discovered at Union County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control in Blairsville, Georgia, this vivacious pup is winning hearts on the West Coast! Animal control officers had picked her up as a stray and she had no name, so SDF staff felt the name “Georgia” seemed fitting, as she is the first dog we have ever recruited from that state! A one-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer, Georgia was identified by SDF Canine Recruiter, Greg Strickland, who is also a Canine Handler for Florida Task Force 1. Greg easily described Georgia in just one word: “FAST!”
Georgia’ entered SDF’s training program in February of 2017 and showed no signs of slowing down! In fact, SDF Trainer Lyz Gregory said, “Georgia is a dog that we have to try and slow down daily because it’s important to make sure she’s retaining the lesson we just taught; not just breezing right through it. But she is coming along very nicely and has an incredibly sweet temperament. I am confident that she is going to do great things in this field.”
Several months later, Georgia graduated SDF’s program with she was paired with Firefighter/Paramedic Clint Schepe on November 3, 2017. As members of Chula Vista Fire Department in Southern California, the team now trains regularly with their California Task Force 8 (CA-TF8) teammates.
Georgia and Clint spent several months working on strengthening their bond as well as the skills needed to achieve certification with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This Certification is required for any Canine Search Specialist to deploy with their task force. The team reached their goal at FEMA certification evaluations in Riverside, CA, in October 2018 and 2021.
To-date, Georgia and Clint have responded to a vehicle crash in San Diego in January of 2020. After the vehicle rolled down a canyon, 3 SDF-trained canine teams were deployed to search for anyone who may have been thrown into the tough surrounding terrain.
Until the next call comes, the Georgia and Clint continue to train with CA-TF8 for different disaster scenarios that might put their skills to good use.