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Celebrating 5 years of service!

Celebrating 5 years of service!

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!

Carpet Liquidators Supports Search Dogs!

Carpet Liquidators Supports Search Dogs!

Cascadia Search Dogs (CSD) and Northwest Disaster Search Dogs (NDSD) are excited to be the beneficiaries of a month-long promotion by locally owned Carpet Liquidators!

During the month of September, Carpet Liquidators is donating 10% of select retail sales to CSD and NDSD.

Yellow dog sitting up

“We are proud to support the efforts of these locally supporting and deploying all-volunteer organizations, which don’t always receive the credit they deserve” said Michael Fleming, owner of Carpet Liquidators, with seven Western Washington locations.

September is a great month to purchase carpet from Carpet Liquidators and support two local search and rescue organizations!

Congratulations Candice and K9 Mo!

Congratulations Candice and K9 Mo!

We are so proud of our team member Candice and her K9 partner Monet (better known as Mo!) for passing their USAR (Disaster-Live-Find) Certification Evaluation, hosted by Washington Task Force 1.

This team works hard to maintain their readiness to respond should disaster strike and this means achieving a national third-party certification. Candice and Mo deploy with Northwest Disaster Search Dogs.

Way to go, Team!

SAVE THE DATE!

We are incredibly pleased to present TWO highly sought after seminars right here in Snohomish County, WA!

In October, 2023 Craig Schultz and Gregory Strickland with the K9 Behavior Consortium will be presenting two different workshops.

Problem Solving: October 18 & 19th. Develop training plans that reduce confusion and provide clarity in your training; learn how to implement a problem-solving system to get to the root of any behavior problem and develop a comprehensive action plan to solve it.

PAY THAT DOG!: October 20 -22nd. Learn reward selection and delivery systems; improve handler mechanics; challenge your assumptions in learning theory through practical exercises. This is a blend of classroom and hand-on experiences (with and without your dog).

Both working and audit spots will be available.

Applications to attend will open June 20th. Check back to our Facebook page or our website for the application form.

See the Flyer here.

Two New Certifications!

Two New Certifications!

We are so happy to announce that our President Janiece Miller and her K9 Parker, and our Vice President Candice Church and her K9 Mo achieved their Disaster Certification Evaluation – Live Find recently in Tulsa, OK!

This test has multiple components including pre-requisite testing in agility, obedience and direction and control. This final test consists of locating 6 target odors in 2 back-to-back searches on the rubble pile.

Both teams are also members of Northwest Disaster Search Dogs and can now deploy as part of that team.

We are so proud of what these two teams have accomplished!

Upcoming Workshops

Upcoming Workshops

CSD Member Chris Terpstra will be instructing at several workshops over the next few months. You can get information for each directly from the websites listed.

Scent Specific Workshop

April 21- 23, 2023

Bend, OR.

Deschutes Search and Rescue

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SARDUS PNW Clinic

June 15 – 19, 2023

Salem, OR

SARDUS

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K9 Avalanche at Smart Dog Training Conference

Scottsdale, AZ

August 12 – 14, 2023

Smart Dog Training Conference

Spring Trailing Seminar is a Wrap!

Spring Trailing Seminar is a Wrap!

We’ve just completed our spring trailing workshop with 10 K9 teams participating. Instructors Denise Alvord and Nick Hodgen of Crosswinds Canine were phenomenal! We are grateful to The Creag Foundation for their financial support for this seminar.

Here are a few things the participants had to say.

“I liked how Denise and Nick would get out the white board and describe what was going on with the air movement in different situations and explain why they set something up the way they did, or why the dog reacted the way it did.  Very helpful not only in helping us understand what was happening, but also helps us when setting up trails on our own.  I loved how they talked with us following our own trails, as well as talking with the group as we followed trails.  I learned so much by watching others and listening to Denise and Nick.”

“Thank you Cascadia Search Dogs for the well organized and responsive set up for this training. Great selection of training areas.
Thank you Denise and Nick for the direct feedback and direction provided. Your skill level is impressive and you work well together as a team. I appreciated the scenarios that were set up and the organized method used to lay tracks and work dogs. Very smooth.”

“Thanks to CSD, Nick and Denise for a mind stretching weekend.” 

Stay tuned for information about our Fall Trailing Seminar with Robert Noziska!

First Pitch!

First Pitch!

On April 3, 2023 our very own K9 Keb was honored during the Seattle Mariners “Bark in the Park” home game with the Los Angeles Angels at T-Mobile Park.

Keb is now 13 years old and has spent her life find the missing and the lost. She has been recognized as the 2022 American Humane Search and Rescue Hero Dog and is featured in the award-winning bestseller “A Dog’s Devotion: True Adventures of a K9 Search and Rescue Team.”

Along with CSD members Suzanne Elshult and Guy Mansfield, Keb participated in the ceremonial “first pitch” at the ballpark! You can watch the video of their pitch here.

Photo credit: Dean Rutz, The Seattle Times

K9 Redden Memorial Training Scholarship Applications Now Open

K9 Redden Memorial Training Scholarship Applications Now Open

Applications for scholarships to SAR K9 trainings are now open on the Calvary Canine Website.

WHO CAN APPLY?

This scholarship is for Search & Rescue K9 teams of any discipline.

Applicants must be a member in good standing with a search team and provide a supporting letter. Independent handlers may apply but must provide a letter from a deploying agency confirming their affiliation.

Up to 5 scholarships will be awarded per cycle. A minimum score of 70% of the total points is required to qualify.

We Do Educational Presentations!

We Do Educational Presentations!

K9 Keb, along with CSD Members Suzanne Elshult and Guy Mansfield, recently gave an educational presentation to the Seattle branch of SWEA (Swedish Women’s Education Association). While these 3 are on their book tour for A Dog’s Devotion, they are enjoying engaging the community and raising awareness about all the hard work that SAR volunteers, especially the K9s, do for their communities.

Suzanne reports that Keb very much enjoyed meeting all the lovely people, but her favorite part was getting to sample the Swedish meatballs.

Would you like CSD members to present to your group or organization about outdoor skills and what goes into Search and Rescue efforts? Simply reach out to us at info@csdk9.org for more information.

Service Animal Eye Exam Registration Opens April 1st

Service Animal Eye Exam Registration Opens April 1st

The 2023 ACVO/Epicur National Service Animal Eye Exam Event will be taking place during the month of May. 

This event is a philanthropic event that provides free, ocular screening eye exams to qualified Service and Working Animals each May.  These exams are provided by those members of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists who choose to participate and volunteer their time and resources.

Spots are limited. Registration will be open only April 1st – April 30th. Please be sure to review the qualifications prior to registration. Registration will not open prior to April 1, 2023.

You can find the list of participating cities here.

Congratulations Chris and K9 Makalu!

Congratulations Chris and K9 Makalu!

CSD Member Chris along with K9 Makalu recently passed their National Search Dog Alliance Avalanche First Responder certification!

In addition to this certification, Chris and Makalu maintain third-party certifications in Wilderness Airscent with Large Source and Human Remains Detection Land & Water/Shoreline.

We are so proud of this team and all that they give back to the community.