K9 Search and Rescue Foundation, Inc.

Note: The K9 Search and Rescue Foundation is in the process of applying to the IRS for a 501(c)3 charitable classification. Upon approval donations will be tax deductible retroactive to August 2006. Please consult your own tax professional.

Our Vision is to have only the best trained, most highly motivated search dogs who have been tested to a nationally recognized standard used in the field to find lost and missing persons.

Our Mission is to help support, promote and provide the best training and adequate training facilities for local, state, and national volunteer canine search and rescue teams.

If you would like to support our mission, please visit our Donations page.

Challenges facing volunteer Search teams

Limited time and resources to train new team members in fundamentals.
Lack of funding.
No nationally recognized, locally required standard for evaluating the effectiveness of a canine team (dog and handler).

Helping those who help others

The K9 Search and Rescue Foundation provides training for volunteer search dog handlers and their canine partners through seminars and classes. Classes will start with the basic fundamentals and expand into the different disciplines of search and rescue (SAR). The seminars for individual disciplines will include wilderness air scent, human remains detection, disaster (collapsed structure rescue), and tracking/trailing. For more information on upcoming events, go to our Training Seminars page.

Material support for qualified volunteer canine search teams will be provided in the form of financial grants and donated equipment. For more information regarding grant applications, please visit our Grants page. If your company makes or sells equipment or clothing that would be beneficial to search teams, or would like to contribute to or sponsor a grant, please visit our Donations page.

The K9 Search and Rescue Foundation will be compiling certification standards from teams across the country. We will be forming a committee to study and evaluate the effectiveness of such standards. The long term goal, through cooperation of many organizations, is to implement a nationally recognized, locally required minimum standard for deploying search canines. If you would like to be involved with this committee, Contact Us.

While dogs have been used to benefit mankind for thousands of years, the organized effort to train quality search dogs has yet to mature. With hard work, focused energy, and cooperation we will continue to learn and make progress in our struggle to save human lives. The K9 Search and Rescue Foundation is dedicated to helping those who help others.