Team Info
Task Force: Utah Task Force 1 (UT-TF1)
Level: Certified
Search Dog Info
Breed: Yellow Lab
Sex: Male
Born: August 20, 2011
Recruited from: Los Banos Volunteers for Animals – Los Banos, CA
Recruited by: Heidi Miller
Sponsors: Sean McGrath, Jill Bee
Named by: Sean McGrath
Named in Memory of: Tom McGrath
SDF used Facebook to network through a Fresno Lab Rescue to connect to this young Yellow Labrador, originally named “Reacher.” He had been picked up as a stray and placed in a kill shelter in Los Banos, CA called Los Banos Volunteers for Animals. After being identified as a high-energy, toy-driven dog, an SDF volunteer named Leone Sorg, mother to one of our canine trainers, traveled to the shelter and tested Reacher. Leone had previously evaluated Jester, who went on to become a certified Search Dog with the Orange County task force, and felt that Reacher also had everything it takes to achieve greatness in this field.
Upon being pulled from the shelter, he was brought down to SDF’s National Training Center (NTC) in Santa Paula, CA in December of 2012, where he began formal training with our canine training staff. Initially Reacher struggled with some instruction. “Persistently resilient,” was how Sonja described this bold dog, but the trainers could clearly see his intense drive and focus, as well as his consistent progress, and firmly believed he had the makings of a great Search Dog. He was incredibly strong and determined, and promising results from testing showed that this lab had what it takes to learn, adapt, and rescue!
Halfway through his training, staff at SDF were contacted by Sean McGrath of the Frank McGrath, Jr. Family Foundation, a local Ventura County farming family whose gift in 2006 made it possible for SDF to purchase the land upon which our NTC is being built. Sean asked to name a search dog candidate in honor of his brother, Tom, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Sean and Tom, both ranchers, shared a love of land and dogs, and expressed that in their gifts to make the NTC a reality. Tom McGrath visited the NTC in the spring of 2013 and was able to meet candidate Tom and watch him in action. It was a very moving day and SDF is honored to be able to bestow his namesake on one of our canines.
Tom practiced daily with SDF trainers and continued to build his search skills as the weeks passed. Trainer Lyz Gregory reported that, “Each day Tom comes ready to work, which in turn drives us to be better trainers to keep up with him…He continues to amaze us with his sense of humor and his searching ability.”
On October 8, 2013, Tom was ready to start the new chapter in his career when he was paired with Senior Fire Prevention Officer Michelle Whalen of Dallas Fire-Rescue. Tom returned to Dallas with Michelle but when it was determined several months later that she would not continue as a member of Texas Task Force 2’s canine team, Tom returned to the NTC for tune-up training and to find another appropriate partner.
In October of 2014, SDF veteran handler from Utah Task Force 1, Lee Culley, flew out to California to be paired with Tom. Lee had retired her Search Dog Brutus in September and was an SDF trainer in 2013 who helped to prepare Tom for his career as a Search Dog. She said that he recognized her immediately when she returned to the NTC to work with him again.
The new team trained daily in Utah in preparation for their FEMA Certification Evaluation to become a deployable team on the Task Force. They achieved the goal in Las Vegas, NV on February 21, 2015, just four months after being paired at the National Training Center.
The team have already put their skills to good use in helping local agencies search for a missing person in September 2015, and have continued to train regularly next time since then.
To remain FEMA certified and deployable, Tom and Lee have re-certified in November 2017, January 2021, and most recently in November of 2023.
We see them out at SDF’s National Training Center just about once a year, keeping their skills fresh alongside their teammates.