Since its inception, the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) has focused on recruiting search dog candidates from shelters, breed rescue groups, and other individuals or organizations. Our canine recruiters evaluate these dogs, and if they fit within our criteria, we accept them into the program, care for them, …
Marc and his littermates, Doc and Mocha, were born on March 22, 1999. The three chocolate Labradors were initially candidates for the Guide Dogs of America (GDA) program—but they all had too much energy to be Guide Dogs. It was very unusual for GDA to have so many puppies from …
German Shepherd Maverick was born in New Mexico on July 23, 2002. His owner, Karen, thought he would make a great search and rescue dog because he was energetic, bold, and determined. Karen donated this high-energy canine to the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF). Upon his arrival …
Buddy was originally named “Happy” and donated to SDF by the organization, Butte Sink Retrievers. Born on June 6, 1997, Buddy entered our search dog training program as a young adult and was eventually partnered with handler Kelly Gordon. A San Diego area police officer, Kelly was a member of …
Gas Explosion in San Bruno, CA On Thursday, September 9th around 5:00pm, a gas pipeline exploded in the Glenview neighborhood in the city of San Bruno near the San Francisco Airport. Four people were killed and 37 homes were destroyed or damaged.SDF Search Team Tom Carney and his partner Gypsy were …
Teams Respond to Search for Missing Hiker in Carmel ValleyAround 9:30pm on July 3, SDF Handler Eric Hanzelka received a call from a fellow Carmel Valley Fire Department Captain requesting Eric and his Search Dog Ellie’s help to find a hiker lost in Garland Park, a wooded area in Carmel.Eric …
SDF Teams Search Sacramento House Rocked by Gas ExplosionOn the morning of July 5, SDF Search Teams Tim Robertson & Speaker and Jeff Ivy & Jakers received a call to deploy to a local house search in Sacramento. About one hour earlier, a natural gas explosion had destroyed the home, …
SDF Teams Search for Survivors of Oklahoma TornadoesOn the afternoon of May 10, seven deadly tornadoes touched down near Oklahoma City. The twisters killed five people, injured dozens, and damaged over 50 homes across three counties in a matter of hours. Four of SDF’s five Oklahoma City teams were called …
Search Dog Foundation Teams in Haiti: Deployment ReportJanuary 12, 2010:A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits Haiti, destroying most of Port-au-Prince and many surrounding communities. The Haitian government reaches out to the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance which is charged with deploying FEMA Task Forces to overseas disasters.Canine Disaster Search Teams …
It was with great sadness that the Search Dog Foundation (SDF) family said goodbye to Search Dog Jazz last week as he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. After seven years with his handler Luis Garcia, and 11 deployments as part of Baja California Task Force 3, Jazz was a wonderful ambassador for …
