search and rescue people - Page 1

just curious was wondering who does this as a profession? any good links to learn about the life of someone who does this with their dog ? thanks

It was not a profession, more a volunteer thing. I paid for all my equipment, training, travel expenses... well everything. I was unpaid and unreimbursed. This of course was before all the fire dept started paying for their folks to get involved in it and paid them for it. Frankly it became full of people with arrogance and in it for the wrong reasons then and they were not dog people which really made it hard to do it around them. I have not done it for many years now but never regretted the experience as a whole.

Hi Troubles,
Most Search and Rescue (SAR) personnel are volunteers. I am not aware of any paid dog handlers other than those that work for state or government law agencies (State Police, Local Police, Border Patrol, Forest Service).

However, there are paid positions within the Search and Rescue community. They are usually appointed positions within the State Police or similar. These positions can be full or part time, require many years of SAR experiance and are managerial in type. An example would be the state Resources Officer.

Not sure but the the national organization (NASAR) may also have paid positions.

There are several SAR dog forums you can join that are very helpful when trying to learning more about K9 SAR.

You can PM me and I will be happy to answer any other questions.

C

CLC, Please don't make it a private message discussion. Although I'm not interested in any paid SAR positions, I (AND i'm sure others) am always interested in more information pretaining to SAR. So please share the info publicly

Good Morning JF98,
Sorry, did not mean to make it a private message discussion. I always offer a private PM in my replies in case the person is not completely comfortable discussing topic publicly.

One of the forums I like is Search-Dog-News.

C

Something else to consider is to contact any SAR groups in or around your area.  If you don't know where to find them, you can contact NASAR, or you can contact your local law enforcement and ask them who is called when a search is needed (if they don't have their own dogs.) 

I volunteered as a K9 SAR handler for over 7 years. You should have a desire to help lost people / their families, helping the community, while working very hard with your dog. SAR can be very demanding consuming lots of your time in training for yourself & your dog, plus finical you'll be responsible in purchasing all material required. Plus of course you'll need to be physical fit enough & be comfortable hiking / camping outside in a tent alone.

Choose your SAR club wisely, their not all made equally. Make sure you can get along with the people with in the group for long hours during training. It can make for a even longer day if you don't enjoy your company. Plus you have to learn to work with these people efficiently when it really counts. 
Make sure the club is well organized, welcoming, knowledgeable about SAR & dog training. Also you like the way they train & take out enough time for training. 

Keep in mind majority of people that first join a SAR group that make, but their dogs don't. In this case most choose to continue on with their own training while they purchase a dog more suitable for SAR.

I loved my work in SAR, it was so rewarding. I' training my new k9 partner now & hopefully we'll work out just as well.  

Something else to keep in mind...SAR isn't all glitz and glamour.  Many times people love the "idea" of Search and Rescue, but they don't necessarily know about or enjoy the idea of standing out in the cold rain for several hours, etc. 

Another thing to point out is SAR can be expensive and taxing not only on finances but on personal time, too.  You need to be 100% dedicated to the WANT to HELP someone versus working with your dog, etc.

I agree with FlashBang completely. My dog and I are a certified HRD team and there is no glamour at all. We have lgged many training hours in the heat, cold, rain and snow. In fact our cert was done mid December, brutal! I got invovled because I felt my dogs had more to offer than just to sport, I do not regret the decision, but you have to be willing to give up your time, and for me helping a family get the closure the desperately need is payment enough for me.
I am independent, but I work closely with a woman who has been a cadaver dog handler for over a decade and is also a P.O, and I have the utmost respect for what this person brings to the table, and the credit for where I am today can be traced back to her!




Theresa