Eight years of training, teamwork, dedication, and serviceโand countless hours spent preparing dogs and handlers to help when people are missing.
Eight years of training, teamwork, dedication, and serviceโand countless hours spent preparing dogs and handlers to help when people are missing.
Eight years of training, teamwork, dedication, and serviceโand countless hours spent preparing dogs and handlers to help when people are missing.
8 years. Countless hours. One incredible community.
โจPlease join us in congratulating our team member Candice Church and K9 Lucy on their recent new certification in Area II with the National Search Dog Alliance!
We look forward to all that this team will accomplish in their Search and Rescue Career! ๐พ๐
Huge congratulations are in order for an incredible team! ๐พ๐ช
We are so proud to announce that Janiece and K9 Parker have officially leveled up their life-saving skills.
Not only did they recently achieve their recertification CE (Certified Evaluation) for Disaster Search, but they also recently successfully completed their re-certification in Area/Live Find with SARDUS!
These national certifications represent hundreds of hours of rigorous training and a profound commitment to the standards of the search and rescue community.
Please join us in commending Janiece and Parker for their professionalism, perseverance, and ongoing dedication to the mission. ๐
๐ Thank You to the Tulalip Tribes! ๐
Cascadia Search Dogs is deeply grateful to the Tulalip Tribes Charitable Contributions for awarding us a grant in support of our training and education program.
This generous support helps ensure our canine teams receive the highest quality training, allowing us to better serve our communities in times of need. ๐พ
We appreciate the Tulalip Tribesโ commitment to strengthening local organizations and making a difference across the region.
#CommunitySupport #CascadiaSearchDogs #TulalipTribes #Gratitude
Congratulations to CSD team member Candice Church and K9 Mo on their Type II Suburban Trailing Certification with SARDUS!
Tests were taken on our hottest days of the year so far, so we know this team has what it takes to be an effective trailing team!
Congratulations to CSD Member Kristine Lesperance and K9 Sage on their new certification in Basic Historical Human Remains Detection!
This team has a bright future ahead and we couldn’t be more proud of you!
The Search Team Grant is designed to help provide active live-find and human remains detection disaster canine handlers operating in the federal and state urban search and rescue (US&R) systems and nonprofit-affiliated wilderness search, avalanche search, and odor detection canine handlers gain the skills and experience needed to be ready for deployment by lessening the burden of their out-of-pocket expenses for training and equipment.
Over the last decade, this program has made it possible for first responder canine handlers to attend specialized training, purchase training gear and equipment, and pay for travel expenses and other costs not covered by their task forces.
The next grant application cycle opens April 1st and more information can be found on their website.
We’ve been busy little bees planning our seminars for this year. We are so excited that we wanted to share what we have planned so you can mark your calendars!
As we get closed to each seminar, check our events pages for the applications along with more details for each.
๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด: ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐
Denise Alvord
Feb 28th โ March 2nd
๐๐๐ป๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ด๐
Katelyn Graham
June 20th โ 22nd
Applications are now closed.
๐๐ถ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ผ๐ด๐
Trina Eddy
Hybrid course including an online learning platform to be completed prior
August 2nd & 3rd
๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐
K9 Behavior Consortium โ Craig Schultz and Jodi Daugherty
Hybrid course including 2 virtual lectures and homework assignments in September 2025 (dates TBD)
Oct 3rd โ 5th
๐๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Mary Cablk
Oct 10th โ Oct 12th
Congratulations to Suzanne Elshult and K9 Kili on passing their 3rd party recertification in Historical Human Remains Detection (HHRD).
HHRD teams are typically used to search for human remains that are very old and the odor threshold is very low. Types of searches would include working with law enforcement on very old cold criminal cases, and historical searches working with archeologists, historians, Native American communities and others to locate old human remains and unmarked graves.
On September 11, 2018, Cascadia Search Dogs came to be โ born of the belief that the community is best served when search dog teams are well trained and held to high standards for certification.
But what we knew was that high quality training just wasnโt easily available or affordable. So, we got to work!
Through grants and donations, we worked to secure funds to bring in the excellent instructors that we knew could help our Pacific NW teams. Each year since 2018 we have offered a variety of different trainings โ onsite workshops, online training, resources offered through our web page and Facebook page.ย
Because of the funding we have received, weโve been able to keep registration costs low and offer full and partial scholarships on a regular basis. Our most recent 3 day training was offered at just $200 and one lucky team got a full scholarship to attend!
Our commitment to innovation, integrity and inclusivity has guided us, and it will continue to be the cornerstone of future endeavors.
As we look ahead, we are filled with optimism and excitement โ our journey is far from over โ there is still so much more to do!
Hereโs to many more years of growth, success, and making a positive impact together.
Happy Birthday to Us!
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of K9 Shuksan.
Shuksan and his handler Steve were certified as an Airscent-Live Find Team. Together they helped bring home the lost and the missing.
Shuksan loved all he met and was always ready for anything! He truly loved the search game – in fact, his first certification was on a snowy, 30 degree day and he found his two subjects in record time!
Rest easy, Shuksan – we’ll take it from here.
From her early days, it was clear that Keb was meant for SAR.ย From a little yellow ball of fluff, she soon earned her first certification in Wilderness Airscent where many learned of her powerful jump alerts that earned her the nickname โThe Kebinatorโ.ย She continued to excel, achieving certifications in Avalanche, First Responder Disaster, Human Remains Detection and Historical/Archeological Human Remains Detection with her owner Suzanne Elshult.
In 2022 she was featured as the main character in an award-winning book โ A Dogโs Devotion: True Adventures of a K9 Search and Rescue Team. Later that same year she would be named the American Humane SAR Hero Dog in recognition of her contributions to bringing home the lost and the missing.
Whether being dropped in by helicopter to search the high snowfields at Mt. Rainier or the slow, methodical work in an historic cemetery, Keb gave it her all. Always ready to go, always ready to search, and when the work was done, a game of fetch with her beloved ball.
Your work here is done, Keb. Rest easy, weโll take it from here.