For information on becoming a Lifetime Care Home, please contact Karen Klingberg at 888/459-4376 x114 or  .

(We offer this to California residents only, so that we may keep in close contact the families who have adopted these special dogs.)

Former search dogs and trainees in search of a home

The Search Dog Foundation goes to great lengths to find rescued canines with the exceptional characteristics required in a search dog: intense drive, athleticism, energy and focus.  We work with shelters, breed rescue groups and service dog agencies across the country to recruit these outstanding canines. 

Despite our best efforts, occasionally the dogs originally selected are not able to enter SDF’s training program.  Some dogs that display tremendous drive at the shelter lose that critical “edge” when tested in new surroundings.  Some dogs that pass the initial screening process can’t be admitted to the program due to hip dysplasia or early signs of arthritis revealed in a screening x-ray. 

It also happens that dogs accepted to SDF’s training program are not able to graduate.  Some start to exhibit a previously undetected behavior that makes them unsuitable for disaster search—aggressiveness toward other dogs, lack of focus, or dislike for working on rubble.  Sometimes the dogs are just so happy to finally be in the hands of loving people that they lose their intense search drive altogether.

In any of these cases, SDF finds a loving home for the dog with a Lifetime Care Home takes the dog in as their own very special pet.  SDF stays in touch with the family to make sure the dog is getting the best possible care, and serves as a safety net for the needs of each dog.  SDF continues to act as the dog's advocate should anything change in the circumstances of its adoptive home.  

Dogs currently in need of a Lifetime Care Family:

[Please visit us again soon to meet  the dogs currently looking for a home.]