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)

Dodger & Adam Schaaf

Dodger & Adam Schaaf

Team Info

 

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

Agency: Lincoln Fire-Rescue

Level: Certified

 

Search Dog Info

 

Breed: Belgian Malinois
Sex: Male
Born: December 1, 2020
Rescued from East Bay SPCA
Sponsors: Carol George and Roger Stewart, Lazin Animal Foundation

 

 

At only three months old, Dodger ended up at the East Bay SPCA in Oakland, CA, for being a young, exuberant Malinois who needed more structure than his family could give him. His family did not have the time to pursue training for Dodger and decided it was best for him to be rehomed. Noticing his listing online, SDF reached out to the rescue, whose staff noted that Dodger demonstrated nice focus and strong toy drive, even at his young age. Dodger was approved to enter search dog training, and his family donated him to SDF. Soon after, he was flown to our campus with the help of volunteer pilots at Angel Flight West and then fostered by a member of our own staff until he was old enough to be housed in our kennel.

 

Once at our training center, it was apparent that although Dodger was a young puppy, he had the confidence of a king! Intelligent and thoughtful in his training, he quickly learned to bark for his toy and enjoyed exploring the rubble pile. As he matured, Dodger continued to impress trainers with his dedication to work, quickly moving through his obedience and foundational elements. As a sophomore search dog, Dodger was even performing the same searches as dogs in the senior class!

 

Fully grown, Dodger proved he was born for this job! He excelled at agility and had a blast climbing ladders, traversing elevated planks, and boldly riding the teeter-totter as it dropped. There was nothing he would rather do than search our rubble pile, though, and he was fantastic at it: finding victims quickly and wasting no time to alert with gusto!

 

Dodger was paired with his first responder handler, Adam Schaaf of Lincoln Fire-Rescue and Nebraska Task Force 1 (NE-TF1), on July 2, 2022. With a lifelong dream to be a firefighter, Adam joined the Nebraska Air National Guard right out of high school and then Lincoln Fire-Rescue a few years later. Now eighteen years into his firefighting career, Adam had been considering becoming a handler for the last decade but needed to fulfill his military service before he could take the next step.

 

Adam says he knew Dodger was his perfect match after one memorable training together. After being rewarded for a job well done, Dodger liked to run celebratory laps. When Dodger was a good distance away on one of his laps and Adam recalled him, Dodger made eye contact and ran toward Adam at top speed! Adam said at that moment, “I knew; this is my man!”

 

The two achieved FEMA certification, which allows them to deploy on federal missions with NE-TF1, in February 2023. Since then, they have continued to train regularly with their task force teammates in preparation for deployment.

 

Dodger and Adam’s first call to action was on September 3, 2023, to help a local Lincoln, NE hospital locate a missing person. Dodger searched the building and was able to confirm that the missing patient was no longer there, enabling law enforcement to widen their search. Adam was proud of Dodger’s performance, and we could not be happier with how they are successfully serving their community.

 

In October 2024, Adam and Dodger deployed to join their NE-TF1 teammates in North Carolina, where they had been assisting with rescue and recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene. Adam and Dodger arrived the day before Hurricane Milton was to strike Florida to help the task force reorganize and focus on moving south. We wish them all a safe trip and speedy return!