Ellen and Tom Paiva, owners of Broken Arrow Dog Training and long-time SDF volunteers, rescued Jerry in September 2007. The first time Ellen met him she saw past his chunky exterior, recognizing his special “Search Dog spark” and his need to have a job! “When we turned him out, it …
Meet two of our canine candidates in training: Flyer and Luka! FLYER Flyer is a rescued Border Collie mix that always appears to be smiling and happy to work– her one floppy ear emphasizes her spunky character. Flyer came to us through Haven Humane Society in Redding, CA after animal …
With friends and family cheering them on, four new Canine Disaster Search Teams joined the elite roster of urban search and rescue responders at the Search Dog Foundation’s (SDF) National Training Center on Friday, February 2, 2018. These new teams will follow in the foot and paw prints of generations …
Congratulations to all of the Canine Disaster Search Teams who achieved FEMA Certification on January 20th and 21st, including 10 SDF-trained teams! Despite cold and windy conditions, SDF Head Trainer Sonja Heritage and Program Administrator Kate Horwick were at Del Valle Training Center in Castaic, CA, to support SDF’s Search …
Our hearts go out to the families who have lost loved ones and those affected by this disaster. We are grateful for the rescuers, both two- and four-legged, on the ground during this time of great need. Thank you for supporting our teams to prepare them for this deployment and thank you for …
Tanker came to the Search Dog Foundation in an unusual way. Formerly known as “Tank,” this beautiful Lab was donated to the Search Dog Foundation by his previous Handler, Adam Cooper, of Colorado Task Force 1, in the fall of 2011. Adam and Tanker had not yet certified together and …
VC Star | Thomas Fire damages search dog training center in Santa Paula; canines are OK
FINAL UPDATE – THE SEARCH DOGS ARE HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS! FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22 – 1:00 PM When we evacuated from our National Training Center (NTC) campus on the night of December 4, we weren’t sure if we would have a home to come back to after the devastating Thomas …
Bonnie and her sister Clyde, purebred Labrador Retrievers, were born on October 12, 2003. Although they were littermates, their personalities couldn’t have been more different. Clyde responded to training, but Bonnie’s future was on thin ice. Bonnie’s owner, Becky Rutledge, feared that Bonnie might ultimately land in a shelter. Bonnie’s …
The phrase “perfect storm” is used quite often to describe moments when many seemingly unrelated things come together to create a unique, challenging, and memorable event. Here at SDF, this past month and a half has been quite literally a storm, with four major disasters rocking communities throughout North America.
More than half of our active SDF-trained Search Teams from across the country deployed for multiple hurricanes and a massive earthquake. At the same time, SDF officially opened the gates of the National Training Center (NTC) on September 23, an event that was planned long before doppler radar warned us of the storms.
Even while we celebrated this major milestone, our hearts continued to go out to those affected by these disasters, many of whom will be recovering from the impact for years to come. At our Grand Opening we took a moment of silence to think of those in need and to honor all those who deployed to help in the aftermath, both two- and four-legged.
Each of these events – from the SDF Teams serving in four major deployments to the opening of the NTC – is a testament to the ability of our SDF Family, including you, to advance our life-saving mission.
Thank you for being with us every step of the way and for being Part of the Search!
—The SDF Staff
