Congratulations to our team President Janiece Miller and K9 Parker on achieving their Airscent recertification with SARDUS!
We are proud of the great work that this team continues to do.
News
Happy Birthday, K9 Keb!
This past weekend the team helped K9 Keb celebrate her 14th birthday! She got a very special “pup” cake to enjoy.
Yakama descendants search for relatives’ remains at Mool-Mool, or Fort Simcoe Historical State Park
Several of our CSD members have had the great honor to work alongside members of the Yakama Nation in the search for unmarked graves on the site of a Native American Boarding School just outside White Swan, WA.
To date our team has been to the site twice with our dogs that are trained in Historical Human Remains Detection. The work goes on to bring light to a dark part of our American History.
You can read the news story by reporter Anna King here: https://www.nwnewsnetwork.org/2023-11-17/yakama-descendants-search-for-relatives-remains-at-mool-mool-or-fort-simcoe-historical-state-park
K9 Keb Inducted into Hall of Fame!
We just learned that K9 Keb has been inducted into the prestigious Hero Dog Hall of Fame at American Humane!
Keb was chosen as the 2022 National Hero Dog in the Search and Rescue Category.
Nearing 14 years old, Keb is now retired but we are honored by her presence on our team!
Carpet Liquidators Fundraiser a Success!
During the month of September, Carpet Liquidators held a benefit fundraiser for Cascadia Search Dogs and Northwest Disaster Search Dogs.
Carpet Liquidators earmarked 10% of select retail sales in September, totaling $61,890, for the fundraising effort. Each organization has received $30,945.
“We wanted to support and spotlight the work of these tremendous dogs and their handlers and the important role they play in search and rescue efforts in our region and beyond,” said Michael Fleming, owner of Carpet Liquidators, with seven Western Washington locations.
We are so grateful for this significant donation to our team!
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!
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.
“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!
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.
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!
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
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.