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Canine Search Teams return from rescue work in Joplin and Oklahoma City

May 25, 2011 • Rescue • by Guest Writer

From rescued…to rescuer.

Huck and Jagger, two of the Search Dogs deployed to Joplin, were recruited from shelters, given professional training, and partnered with firefighters – at no cost to the departments or the government. 76 Search Dog Foundation-trained teams stand ready to deploy when the next disaster strikes.

On Tuesday evening we received this text message from our handler Jason Smith in Missouri:

“Brent and I are leaving Joplin now after almost two full days of searching. Our Task Force has completed its work in the area assigned to them and has been released by Command. We are headed home to the severe weather and tornadoes that await us in Oklahoma.”

All of us at SDF are all extremely proud of Brent & Huck and Jason & Jagger who responded to the tornado deployment with the utmost professionalism, skill, and courage.

Minutes after receiving Jason’s text message we learned that two more of our Oklahoma teams, Mark Edwards & Taz and Dane Yaw & Salsa had been deployed in Oklahoma City, their home base, in anticipation of the tornadoes touching down there. Dane texted us Wednesday:

“We demobilized around 4:30 this morning. This tornado system had legs and ran a long way, but most of the storms were thin so the damage was isolated to 200 yard swaths. The large tornados were rural. People heeded the warnings—metro schools and most business closed early. If one of the big tornados had hit a populated area it would have been a major disaster.”


The Search Dog Foundation began in Oklahoma City, with Wilma’s deployment to the Federal Building bombing. Since then, we have been deployed 77 times. There are now 76 SDF Search Teams. Of these, 20 are based in “tornado alley”: 9 in Oklahoma, 4 in Nebraska, 4 in Dallas, and 3 in Florida. We have requests coming in from fire departments in other Midwest states, so that when disaster strikes in their region…no one will be left behind.

SDF’s Lead Trainer, Pluis Davern, trained each one of the Oklahoma dogs and handlers, traveling often to Oklahoma to work with the teams in freezing cold and blazing heat. Each handler is like family to her—she knows all of the canines as if they were her own. She sent us her thoughts on the deployment today:

“Watching these once cast-off dogs that with training have become life-saving tools fills me with unmitigated pride and a deep humility for this species that can and does do so much for humankind.”

Today we also received a heartfelt call from Stella, the Adoption Manager at Haven Humane Society in Northern California where we found Jagger:

“We are SO proud! Oh my God, it’s just fabulous to have a rescued dog turn into a rescuer! I may cry over the phone talking about this, but people think that dogs are thrown away when they have their own stories, just like people. The shelter is an orphanage, that’s how I think of it. Jagger was picked-up as a stray and his owner never came to claim him. When they have an innate sense, it’s so great to let them put that to use.”

Learn more: Search Dog Foundation

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