People across America are becoming “Part of the Search” by helping a rescued dog, once abused and abandoned, enter the ranks of the most highly trained search dogs in the nation.  For a donation of $10,000* (payable over one or two years), join other individuals, families, schools and companies in sponsoring an SDF Search Dog.  It’s fun and inspiring—like having your very own Disaster Search Dog, minus the brushing, feeding and scooping! 

 

Give a once-forgotten dog an active, happy, secure life in service to America.
Get to know the dog and handler and follow their training, progress toward FEMA Certification, and disaster deployments.
Set an example for animal welfare and disaster preparedness and in your community.
Help provide a critical, life-saving resource to the nation.

Isn't a dog a dog?  Why do only certain kinds of dogs become SDF search dogs?
Disaster search requires very specific talents and skills in both dog and handler.  A disaster site is a treacherous environment: noisy, chaotic, dust-filled, and sometimes dark.  Disaster search dogs must have the ability to perform at a high level in the worst setting imaginable.  At Ground Zero, for example, the 'pile' was a mountain of debris seven or eight stories high composed of twisted steel and wobbly, uneven surfaces, hot spots and gaps in the rubble where fires were still burning.  It takes an extraordinary dog-one with extreme boldness, energy, strength, agility and drive-to approach every training exercise, and every deployment, with energy and determination.  These are dogs that LOVE to work, NEED to work, and want nothing more than to be out on the rubble, searching!

Why do you need a search dog to find disaster victims?
In order to rescue a disaster victim, you first have to FIND them.  No technology can match a dog's speed and accuracy in finding people trapped alive under the wreckage of a disaster.