Team Info
Task Force: California Task Force 7 (CA-TF7)
Agency: Sacramento Metro Fire Department
Level: In training to certify
Search Dog Info
Breed: Black Lab
Sex: Male
Born: February 15, 2022
Recruited from the Tooele City Animal Shelter
Recruited by Trevor Lawrence
Sponsors: David & Barbara Barnhart, Linda Heizer Seaman, and an anonymous donor.
Timber was spotted wandering by himself by a Utah police officer who contacted animal control for help. Together, they lured Timber to safety with a dog toy the policeman had in his patrol car. Although Timber was micro-chipped, the phone number listed was inoperable, and no one came to the Tooele City Animal Shelter to claim him. Luckily for Timber, his high toy drive and pleasant demeanor caught the staff’s attention, and they reached out to SDF on his behalf. Our recruitment team watched his evaluation videos and quickly said yes to this spunky Labrador!
Timber excelled at drive work and began searching more complicated hides before mastering other search elements like off-lead heeling and direction and control. Trainers had a ton of fun training Timber, who they say brings energy and joy to every session. Combined with his hard work and tenacity, trainers knew Timber had all the earmarks of a solid search dog. Timber lived up to this prediction when he graduated from search training and was paired with Brandon Andersen of Sacramento Metro Fire Department and California Task Force 7 on March 30, 2024.
Brandon Andersen is a fourth-generation firefighter and veteran SDF handler who was paired with his first SDF-trained search dog, Winnie, in 2017. They enjoyed a close bond and deployed with their task force until Winnie’s health began to decline at age twelve when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Sadly, Winnie crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2023. With several years left in Brandon’s career, he eventually began looking to be paired with another search dog.
Brandon had always dreamed of being a canine handler because of his special love for dogs and their unique bond with their handlers, and he again turned to SDF to find a canine partner. Brandon had met Timber on one of his visits to SDF before they worked together in the Handler Training Program. Months later, when Brandon saw Timber as a senior, Brandon says,” The first time I saw him, he was maybe a sophomore, very young in the program. He was just a normal black Lab. But six months later, they said “go grab Timber,” and I thought he was a new dog. He had a completely different physique, was super focused and responsive to me immediately, and was SOLID at everything.”
When he was assigned Timber as his new canine partner, Brandon knew he had found the perfect partner. He even slipped right into the Andersen household as if he were finally home. “On the 7-hour drive home, he didn’t make a noise in the SUV. Then we finally got home, and I sat on the couch, he just plopped down next to me like he had been in my house for years,” Brandon says.
Brandon looks forward to growing his bond with Timber through training, enjoying time together swimming in the summer, traveling, and meeting other task force members and handlers. Brandon and Timber will continue to work towards the certifications that allow them to deploy with their task force so they can help communities in their times of need.