February 5, 2009

As you may know SARDUS has been working very closely with Representative Gagliardi in the Colorado State Legislature formulating House Bill #09-1073. This Bill increases funding for search and rescue in Colorado. Representative Gagliardi and family of Jaryd Atadero started this effort to provide increased support for search and rescue in Colorado.

You may recall Jaryds story, as it made national news. In 1999, three-year old Jaryd was hiking with family friends in the mountains of Colorado. Jaryd became separated from his hiking group and a massive search entailed. Jaryds remains were eventually found 4-years later, not too far from the where he went missing. This tragedy galvanized the Atadero family as advocates for outdoor recreation and child safety. Jaryds father, Allyn Atadero, has championed this cause in the name of his son ever since.

SARDUS was invited into the process when Representative Gagliardi and Allyn were looking to support the search and rescue system in Colorado. In 2008, we began writing the Bill and began the process of seeking political support for the changes. We gained the support and worked with the County Sheriffs of Colorado (CSOC), representing the 50 Sheriff Departments in Colorado that are statutorily responsible for SAR operations. We gained the support of worked with the Colorado Search and Rescue Board (CSRB), which represent 55 search and rescue organizations in Colorado. Representative Gagliardi worked tirelessly to garner the support from numerous State agencies as well as the sportsman groups that would be asked to cover the costs of the increase funding.

On Tuesday, February 3^rd, House Bill #09-1073 went before the House Committee on State, Veterans and Military Affairs. In a very emotional hearing SARDUS, CSOC, CSRB and the Atadero family all testified in support of the Bill. There was some opposition to this Bill from the Colorado Bow Hunters Association who stated that the 25-cent increase of fees on all hunting fishing, boating, ATV license unfairly impacted the hunting community. The Bill passed out of the Committee on a vote of 10-1 and is now on its way to the House floor.

While there is still a lot of work to be done, the support we are finding for search and rescue is enormous. Over and over everyone involved in the process recognizes the sacrifice that SAR volunteers give everyday. Should this Bill pass it will fund another $400,000 in training, certification, education and equipment for SAR teams. We really see the system in Colorado as a model that can be easily adopted by other States. SARDUS would be glad to provide detailed information on how this system worked in Colorado and suggestion on how it can be implemented in your State.

For our SARDUS members in Colorado please take the time to contact your State House and Senate Representative and express your support for this Bill.

Best Regards,

Jeff Hiebert

President

Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States

http://www.sardogsus.org

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click here to download file

INFORMATIONAL RELEASE

November 16, 2008

Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS) is in the process on completing a number of initiatives this quarter. The membership is currently reviewing evaluation standards for Airscent, Trailing, and Human Remains Canine Detection. We have outlined a program for developing a Disaster Dog certification.

There has been much discussion on the role of SARDUS on a national and local level. Our main goal is to support the needs of SAR dog handlers and teams nationally. Support to us, means to provide a service that has been asked of us. Our goal is not to impose any standard on any team but to support the needs of teams that do require outside certification. Our goal is also to be financially sound where we can support education and training seminars that can be organized by local groups or on a larger scale. We believe that there are many organizations and systems that work well and do not need to be duplicated. We wish to work in chorus with these organizations, complementing where we can.

Most of us work with or know dog handlers that work on a Federal Task Force. These dedicated individuals go through a gauntlet of training, both for themselves and their canine partners. The system produces highly trained teams. SARDUS has decided to offer a FEMA equivalent Disaster Dog certification. This certification is designed for individuals that may be asked to respond on a local, state or regional basis when there is not a Federal call-out. The certification will be an equivalent to the FEMA certification, given by cross-trained FEMA/SARDUS evaluators.

To support this effort we are offering all current FEMA certified disaster dog teams eligibility to become a certified SARDUS Disaster Dog Handler. It is our hope that this cross-certification will help these resources deploy on a local, state or regional basis when they are not working under the Federal mandate. Our hope is that these resources will work with us on developing local teams that can provide a needed service when they represent local teams and are not part of the national Task Force system. Again we are not trying to duplicate the emerging SUSAR system. We will provide any support we can to states with SUSAR in place, including supporting training and education efforts. We are here to proved a service to the community and will work to support the system.

If you are a FEMA dog handler and would like to join our efforts please join SARDUS by following this link:

http://www.sardogsus.org/id26.html

If you have any questions please contact the Board of Directors here:

bod@sardogsus.org

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INFORMATIONAL RELEASE

November 7, 2008

Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS) is excited to announce that we have been awarded a $120,000 grant to support our fundraising efforts from Google. This yearly grant is performance based and may be expanded up to $450,000 should our results meet the expectations of Google. The Board of Directors would like to thank Google for their financial support of our mission to support the needs of SAR dog handlers across the country.

SARDUS has provided grants to local SAR organizations as “seed money” for education and training events. We hope to continue to provide these grants as money becomes available so local groups can host training and educational seminars of their own. We also hope to use monies raised from the Google grant to fund certification, education and training on a regional basis. This fundraising effort is key to implementing our upcoming programs that are beginning November 8 with a review of our proposed Standards.

If your SAR dog organization or agency is interested in becoming a member of SARDUS please follow this link:

http://sardogsus.org/id25.html

or contact us at BOD@sardogsus.org

Individual may find membership information here:

http://sardogsus.org/id26.html

Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States

INFORMATIONAL RELEASE

November 2, 2008

Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS) will present the Certification Standard for Airscent to the membership for review and consideration. The founding Board of Directors created the Airscent Standard in the 1990’s and it remains a practical standard for search and rescue dog teams today. SARDUS would like to acknowledge the work of the original Board of SARDUS:

L. Bruce Bowler, Alaska

Dr. Janet Brennan, California

Sandra Crain, Georgia

Pat Depp, Pennsylvania

William Dotson, Virginia

Vikki Fenton, Montana

Shirley Hammond, California

Irene Korotev, Missouri

Jeanne Laverdies, Alaska

Marilyn Muse, California

Dave Perkins, Indiana

Andrew Rebmann, Connecticut

Bob Sarve, Pennsylvania

Ann Wichmann, Colorado

Ralph Wilfony, Virginia

Our certification standards will be presented to our membership for review and comment on the Forum (http://www.ourcomforum.com/SARDOGS/ ) from November 8 to November 24. The BOD will consider all recommended changes and then will vote to officially adopt these standards after review by our membership. If you would like to join SARDUS please follow this link: http://sardogsus.org/id26.html .

Our goal is to provide optional certifications at the end of a multiple-day workshop. Combining education with a testing procedure has proven to be an effective means to educate and assess canine teams. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the Board of Directors at BOD@sardogsus.org .

PRESS RELEASE

October 31, 2008

For immediate release

Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS) has developed Certification Standards for Trailing. The SARDUS Standards embraces the distinctions between tracking and trailing that have been defined by working groups such as SWGDOG. Applying these distinctions have provided an accurate evaluation of trailing dog teams in Beta testing.

SARDUS has adopted many of the procedures that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police utilizes to evaluate trailing dog teams. The RCMP has an excellent reputation producing quality trailing dog teams. SARDUS provides opportunity for entry level and advanced trialing certification. We recognize the value that entry-level dogs teams can provide search managers. Our certifications will evaluate teams in the areas where the teams will be asked to work: wilderness, rural/suburban and urban areas.

Our certification standards will be presented to our membership for review and comment from November 8 to November 24. The BOD will consider all recommended changes and then will vote to officially adopt these standards after review by our membership. If you would like to join SARDUS please follow this link: http://sardogsus.org/id26.html .

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PRESS RELEASE

October 30, 2008

For immediate release

Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS) has developed Certification Standards for Human Remains Canine Detection teams. These standards were recently Beta-tested at a HRD clinic held by members of the Board of Directors prior to a BOD meeting in July.

These standards are designed to meet forensic and legal requirements, as well as assess the necessary skills for Human Remains Detection. SARDUS has been working with Law Enforcement and Medical Examiners to develop policies and procedures for proper documentation of the acquisition and storage of cadaver material.

SARDUS created this standard to provide a basic level of service to Responsible Agencies on a local, regional, State and national level. Upon completion and release of the NIMS Credentialing and Resource Typing documents, SARDUS will also align their standards with these federal guidelines, which provide entry-level certifications as well as advanced level certifications.

Our standards are now open for review by the SARDUS membership for a period of 20 (twenty days). The BOD will consider all recommended changes and then will vote to officially adopt these standards after review by our membership. If you would like to join SARDUS please follow this link: http://sardogsus.org/id26.html .

If you have any questions please feel free to contact the Board of Directors at BOD@sardogsus.org .

July19, 2008

One of the challenges that we face as a national organization is communication. Our Board of Directors is spread out from Alaska and California through the West and Midwest to the east coast and Nova Scotia. This is why we are so excited about our next Board of Directors meeting where we can meet face-to-face! We will be meeting from July 28-July 30 in Colorado. Our membership has been provided with our agenda and we are asking for input. We would also like to ask for input on a larger scale on a topic that is important to us.

We want to explore how SARDUS can work with other regional, national and international SAR organizations to best support SAR dog teams. How can SARDUS work with NASAR, NSDA, NASDN, FEMA, and SUSAR to only name a few, to serve the SAR dog community in the best way possible? It is getting more and more expensive to travel, the SAR dog community is a relatively small group of people, is there any way to combine efforts or work more closely so efforts are not duplicated? The Board of Directors is looking for creative ideas to provide the best service possible. Please email us your ideas: BOD@sardogsus.org

If you have not yet joined SARDUS we invite you to do so, we need your support!!- http://sardogsus.org/id26.html

Thank you,

The Board of Directors,

Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States

________________________________________________________________

June 7, 2008

Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States has been working towards the completion of our stated set of goals. The Board of Directors would like to update you on our progress and the projects we have been working on.

CERTIFICATION

Our long-term goal is to provide National Certifications. We anticipate offering the first round of testing in the Rocky Mountain Region in 2009. Of course funding is one of the largest issues we face. This is why we are working with the governmental agencies that benefit from the largely volunteer effort of search and rescue dog teams to support a certification system. We are working on the first step towards certifications by creating an evaluator pool. Our goals for certification are to have a process that is uniform, tests that are reproducible, fair and will satisfy NIMS standards.

EVALUATORS

SARDUS is creating a process to train and qualify evaluators for HRD, air scent and trailing. We believe a pool of qualified evaluators is the cornerstone to any certification process. Our vision is that SARDUS evaluators are paid professionals and reflect the local agencies in the regions that they serve. We hope to have this process finalized by the end of July followed by firm dates for evaluator clinics in the fall/winter of 2008. Please stay tuned.

FUNDING

SARDUS has had the opportunity to meet with a member of the Colorado Sate Legislature to discuss an increase of funding for search and rescue in Colorado. One problem that many agencies, SAR groups and volunteers have is the cost of meeting the new NIMS standards that are being required. Our position has been to support local, State and National systems in obtaining quality training, education and certification. There is an opportunity to raise enough money to support the search and rescue needs in Colorado. The Board of Directors of SARDUS would like to assist each State to meet similar goals. We also would like to make a difference on a national level, to petition for the application of Homeland Security grants for NIMS certification for each State. Please contact us if we can help in your area or you are willing to help with the petitioning process.

SERVICES FOR LAW ENFORMCENT

We have received feedback from law enforcement agencies and search managers that they do not have access to search and rescue dog resources. Some are not fully aware of how they might use a search and rescue dog team. We are exploring the idea of creating Canine Strike Teams. Strike Teams are groups of similar resources that have common communications and leadership. Thus we could bring together SARDUS certified dog resources together from different jurisdictions to respond to searches that do not have local SAR dog resources for response to an incident within the first operational period.

We provide a number of avenues to provide communication and solicit feedback. You can communicate directly with the Board of Directors over the SARDUS forum: http://www.ourcomforum.com/SARDOGS . We keep the SARDUS website up to date: http://www.sardogsus.org/ . You will find a section on training and seminars that are being put on around the country. If you would like to add your event go here. http://www.sardogsus.org/id28.html .You can also e-mail and questions or comments to BOD@sardogsus.org .

Finally, if you have not yet joined our effort please do so. Here is a link to our application for General Membership: http://www.sardogsus.org/id26.html.

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors of Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States

Jeff Hiebert, President

Doug Teeft, Vice President

Ann Wichmann, Treasurer co-founder

Robin Habegar, Secretary

Teresa MacPherson, Director At Large

John Beck, Director at Large

Bruce Bowler, Director At Large co-founder

Dr. Janet Brennan, Director At Large co-founder

George Epp, Director At Large

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The Leadership Team of US SAR Dogs, Inc. and the Board of Directors of Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States are proud to announce the formation of a partnership. The SAR dog community formed US SAR DOGS, Inc. in the beginning of 2007 in response to national changes proposed by National Incident Management System. US SAR Dogs, Inc. provided a forum to speak directly with NIMS working dog group to provide input and answer questions. The SAR dog community spoke strongly saying that they were tired of the divisive politics that has splintered the SAR dog community and thus we have worked to form this new partnership.

Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS) was formed in 1992 by a group of forward thinking individuals. The goal of SARDUS was to support SAR dog teams by providing National certification standards, education and training. SARDUS hosted an International SAR Dog Symposium in Colorado in 1995, bringing together ideas from around the world. SARDUS also has provided grants for SAR dog groups for training and education. The Leadership of both groups have a common mission and are committed to the SAR dog community and the value that all of you represent. Therefore, we will proceed as Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States.

The mission of SARDUS is to assist Local, State, and Federal search and rescue dog teams by providing education, training and certification to National Standards. Our goal is to support search mangers by providing a consistent and dependable resource. We will continue the work that many preceding us have started by working closely with Law Enforcement agencies to represent the SAR dog community as a Professional resource that can withstand the legal reviews that are now taking place in the courtroom. Finally, we share the common goal of each individual in the SAR dog community, and that is to find lost and missing people.

We believe that experience, competency and excellence can be found in each SAR dog organization. We are not an exclusive club. We are asking that each SAR dog organization nominate their most experienced dog handlers to become certified evaluators. Our vision is to create a nationwide network of Professional resources that are all tested to a consistent and competent standard that meet Federal guidelines.

We need your continued support. We have enjoyed the participation of many in the SAR dog community in developing the program. We will provide a forum for you to provide your guidance to this organization by having direct communication with the leadership team. We believe that there is no one more qualified to implement a national SAR dog program than you. Finally, we need your financial support. Ultimately we would like to provide education, training and certification at no cost to the volunteer SAR dog handler. This is only possible by receiving financial support from the agencies that utilize SAR dogs, friends and family of SAR dog handlers and ultimately the communities that we all serve. Our website is designed to reach everyone that has interest in what we are doing: http://www.sardogsus.org .

Thank you for your participation in the next chapter for the search and rescue dog community.

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors of the Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States

Click here to dowload Airscent Standard

Click here to dowload Trailing Standard

Click here to Dowload HRD Standard