Search Teams

Our Search Teams

Baja California Task Force 3 (BC-TF3)

California Regional Task Force 7 (CA-RTF7) Ventura County

California Task Force 1 (CA-TF1) Los Angeles City

California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2) Los Angeles County

California Task Force 3 (CA-TF3) Bay Area

California Task Force 4 (CA-TF4) Oakland

California Task Force 5 (CA-TF5) Orange County

California Task Force 7 (CA-TF7) Sacramento

California Task Force 8 (CA-TF8) San Diego

Nebraska Task Force 1 (NE-TF1)

New York Task Force 2 (NY-TF2)

Oklahoma Task Force 1 (OK-TF1)

Utah Task Force 1 (UT-TF1)

Virginia Task Force 1 (VA-TF1)

Virginia Task Force 2 (VA-TF2)

Storm & Andrew Pitcher

Storm & Andrew Pitcher

Team Info

 

Task Force: Nebraska Task Force 1 (NE-TF1)

Level: Certified

 

Search Dog Info

 

Breed: Golden Retriever
Sex: Male
Born: November 15, 2016
Recruited from Indiana K9 Learning Center in Elkhart, IN
Sponsor: Julie Croker

 

 

Storm, a distinguished red Golden Retriever, came to SDF from the Indiana K9 Learning Center. He had already shown promise as a working dog and was nearly placed with a detection agency when the center’s owner recognized that Storm would thrive as a disaster search dog, thanks to his high energy and desire to work for his toy. Having visited our campus to learn more about our life-saving mission years ago, his previous owner knew that Storm would be well cared for and could achieve his true potential with SDF!

 

Storm spent months tirelessly training and charming our staff members every moment he was off the clock. On August 28, 2020, Storm was officially partnered with Nebraska Task Force 1 (NE-TF1) veteran handler Andrew Pitcher, whose previous partners include SDF-trained search dog Chief and several other non-SDF-trained canines.

 

After seeing the destruction on 9/11, New Zealand native Andrew became a U.S. citizen to be deployable through FEMA to help civilians when needed most. Since then, he has deployed to disasters including Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana as well as deployments in Oklahoma, Colorado, and Texas with Chief.

 

From the start, this incredible team has exemplified the human-canine bond that makes these search teams so very special. They trained diligently with their NE-TF1 teammates and achieved FEMA certification in August 2020, allowing them to deploy on federal missions. As all U.S. teams must recertify every three years to maintain deployment status, the team recertified in July 2023.

 

Since their initial certification, Storm and Andrew have deployed on the following missions:

 

  • December 13, 2020 – Structural Collapse – Crete, NE
  • May 20, 2021 – Missing Person Search – Papillion, NE
  • August 5, 2021 – Missing Person Search – Omaha, NE
  • September 19, 2022 – Hurricane Fiona – San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

Until the next call comes, the team strives to advance their skills and help mentor the new handlers who come up in the ranks behind them. We know that Storm and Andrew will continue to do great things for their community and the nation!