Cyrus & Kalub Lewis

A good Samaritan discovered Cyrus tied to a chain on a stake in someone’s yard for what appeared to be several days. They negotiated with the owner and took him into their home, where it became clear they could not keep him for very long due to his high energy. Cyrus’s rescuer listed him for adoption in a local paper in hopes of finding a loving and responsible home and was not going to let Cyrus go to just anyone. Thankfully, SDF canine recruiter Kirsten Fulk came across the listing and reached out, sharing our organization’s history, and the potential career opportunity, for this lovable and enthusiastic Labrador Retriever. It turns out that Cyrus had plenty of toy drive to accompany his nice temperament, making him an ideal search dog candidate!

Cyrus was transported to our National Training Center in Santa Paula, CA, and began formal search dog training in November of 2020. He spent a year with our training staff until he was ready to be partnered with Firefighter Kalub Lewis of the Unified Fire Authority and Utah Task Force 1 (UT-TF1).

The new team trained regularly with their UT-TF1 teammates and achieved certification with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on April 16, 2022! Certification allows teams to deploy nationwide in the event of disaster, and they must re-certify every 3 years to prove their skills are up to par.

Cyrus and Kalub’s first deployment was to a structural collapse in May of 2023 in the city of Holladay. Cyrus helped to confirm that no one had been inside of the building when it went down and needed rescue. Their efforts brought relief to citizens and allowed clean-up crews to get to work quickly.

Then on October 8, 2024, the team deployed to Florida with their UT-TF1 teammates in response to Hurricane Milton. We wish everyone responding to this incident a successful mission and swift return!