Despite the disruption from COVID-19 during the last year, our nation’s emergency response network is still ready when called upon and our teams continue to achieve and maintain deployment readiness. Canine disaster search teams were in Las Vegas, Nevada, over the weekend and we are happy to share that SDF-trained search teams Lee Culley & Tom (Utah Task Force 1) achieved their recertification with Utah Task Force 1 and Rudy Valencia & Topa (California Task Force 4, Berkeley Fire) achieved certification for the first time!
During the test, each handler and dog team must complete a search of two separate piles, being allowed 20 minutes to complete each, showing teamwork, strategy, and, most importantly, trust in each other. Each team must re-certify every three years to ensure they are up-to-date and ready to respond when needed.
Thank you to Nevada Task Force 1 for hosting the test, and congratulations again to all teams on their certification, which ensures that they can deploy with their task forces anywhere in the country when called upon in the wake of disasters.