Tag: airscent

Congratulations Team Riley!

We are excited to report that K9 Riley and his handler Mary passed their wilderness airscent certification test by finding two ‘lost’ subjects in 40 acres of woods with plenty of time to spare. It was a challenging wet and cold day with gusty winds that were constantly changing. At one point the soap bubbles Mary was using to check the wind started moving to the north but before hitting the ground they reversed and moved ten feet south. K9 Riley was not fooled for a minute. Such a good dog!

Commander Riker is ready for duty!

Join us in congratulating K9 Riker and his handler Brian for becoming the newest certified King County Search Dog airscent team after passing their field test today! Riker, a black German Shepherd known for boldly going where no dog has gone before, bounded through 40 acres of forest and found both his “lost” subjects well within the two hour limit. It takes years of training, practice and patience to certify a search dog and we are very proud of Brian and Riker’s accomplishment. Look for them at the next KCSD mission where they will be seeking out new subjects and […]

Search Dogs Save Lives!

GOOD DOG LINCOLN! On June 21, 2022 five KCSD dog teams responded to a search for an 87 year old with Alzheimers missing overnight in thick woods northeast of Seattle. After working less than 45 minutes K9 Lincoln, Brenna O’Leary and Lincoln’s handler Jon found the subject in steep terrain less than half a mile from their house. While we give our dogs the headlines, the full story is that a great outcome like this results from the teamwork of over twenty five volunteers from several King County Search and Rescue Units: Searchers from ESAR and 4×4 in addition to […]

Our very own hero

Congratulations K9 Lincoln! The votes have been counted and thanks to your support our very own K9 Lincoln was selected as one of the three semi finalist Search & Rescue Dogs in the 2022 American Humane Hero Dog Award competition. We are very proud and grateful to everyone that voted. Even though Lincoln did not make the  finals, this was a great chance to showcase the life-saving work of all the King County Hero Dogs and build community support. Thank You!!!

Our hearts are broken. 💔

K9 Ruby died after a tragic accident while off duty on Saturday. Ruby was at the very beginning of her search dog career having passed her airscent certification test with flying colors earlier this month. A non-stop tail wagger, Ruby was a gorgeous three year old Dutch Shepherd with infectious enthusiasm who loved to work and loved to play. Ruby was a formidable search team with her handler Jonathan who joined King County Search Dogs in 2006 and has deployed on over 240 search missions throughout Washington. Please join us in sending condolences to Jonathan and give your puppies an […]

jet, Ruby, Lincoln, Myka

Kudos for K9s!

It’s been a busy couple of months for new certifications for some of the KCSD dogs! K9 Ruby and handler Jonathan (top right) successfully completed their airscent certification test last weekend finding both “lost” subjects in a 40 acre area in less than two hours. K9 Jet (top left), K9 Myka (bottom left) and K9 Lincoln (bottom right) and their handlers Mathew, Courtney and Jon have all recently passed their human remains detection certification test. Please join us in congratulating all these dogs teams for the years of hard work it takes to reach this level of performance. We look […]

Search Dogs Really Do Save Lives

In the early hours of April 30th KCSD was deployed to look for a missing 87 year old with dementia. At 2:30 AM, after working less than 15 minutes, K9 Lincoln found the subject who was reunited with their family. Please join us in congratulating Lincoln, his handler Jon and support team Brian and Katherine on Lincoln’s first ‘find’ as well as in thanking all the volunteers from KCSD and King County Search and Rescue who responded to the late night call out from the King County Sheriff’s Office and Bellevue, WA Police Department. KCSD dogs and handlers each spend […]

Watch all the KCSD Dogs in action!

If you are COVID quarantining or don’t have 8.5 hours to spare on a Saturday you can still catch up with 10 of the King County Search dogs at a recent airscent training. This 3 minute Google Earth time lapse animation of dog GPS collar tracks lets you see how each dog found its “lost” subjects in one of two 40 acre areas. There is a lot of detail in the video so it is best viewed on a large screen at full 1080p/HD. Link to Video: https://youtu.be/ui5Hm_B7xzM

Tune in to KCSD!

Listen to “The American Canine” podcast to hear Josh Gerstman and Heather Jo Cutting discuss their 20+ years of search dog experience with host Tony McFee. The conversation covers their first exposure to search dogs through to search and rescue becoming their lifestyle. They also describe finding suitable puppies and the training required to become certified search dog team. A great listen!

Go Jet Go !

Faster than a speeding bullet, It’s Jet the Search Dog! Join us in congratulating K9 Jet and Handler Mathew on successfully completing their airscent pretest. True to her name Jet raced through 40 acres of forest and found her ‘lost’ search subjects in half the allotted time. Look for them zooming around at the next King County Search and Rescue mission.

Search Dogs Save Lives!

Join us in congratulating K9 Bailey and her handler Robby on their first find! Last week KCSD Dog Team 11 was deployed on a mission to find an individual in the wilderness of eastern King County. After completing their initial assignment Robby and Bailey went back in to a different area based on new information gathered by King County Search and Rescue. Starting from a campsite Bailey was able to locate the subject a considerable distance away in rugged terrain and return to indicate her find to Robby. Working with King County Explorer Search and Rescue they provided aid and […]

Who’s a good dog?

Congratulations to K9 Cleo and her handler Chad for passing their airscent certification evaluation yesterday! They found both their test subjects in 40 acres of dense forest within two hours despite the classic northwest mix of cold April snow and rain.