We’re celebrating 5 years of service to our K9 SAR Community!
In September 2018, 15 like-minded K9 SAR team members came together to form a new organization – Cascadia Search Dogs!
From our years of experience training and deploying on K9 search missions, we knew that the best outcomes are achieved when teams are well-trained. We also believed that training needed to move beyond the traditional peer-based model that rarely reached beyond county lines.
Our vision was to create an organization that could create new avenues for learning while bringing together teams from across the Pacific Northwest.
Could we do it? Could we find the funding that would allow us to offer classes and trainings at reduced costs, and even offer scholarships?
And after 5 years, we can say resoundingly that the answer is Yes! We have found funding support from community foundations and private donors who believe in the work we do. We’ve expanded from just a few offerings a year to 8 different, multi-day workshops offered in 2023. This year our menu of workshops and seminars has brought in top Master Trainers from around the country and has included trainings in Avalanche, Trailing, Reward Systems, Problem Solving and Legal Considerations for K9 Handlers.
We have a website that has a robust Resource page to aid K9 handlers in their training and we regularly hold open trainings that bring together individuals from different teams where we can share learning and best practices.
This year we have also participated in several community service projects. Using dogs that are specially trained and certified in Historic Human Remains Detection, we have assisted in efforts to located unmarked graves in an historic cemetery and at the site of a Native American Boarding School.
We are proud of what we bring to the K9 SAR community and look forward to continuing this work for many years to come!