Our Capabilities
SAR K9 canines are handler-owned dogs specially trained to perform in high-stress environments and locate missing persons. A single canine can cover the same ground as 50 human searchers — and do it faster.
Scent Disciplines
Our teams maintain canines trained in two core disciplines: Live Find and HRD (Human Remains Detection).
Area Scent & Tracking/Trailing — These canines locate living people by following airborne scent or by tracking a person's scent trail on the ground.
Human Remains Detection — These canines search for deceased persons on land and in water. SAR K9 teams deploy only when activated by an official agency such as law enforcement, fire departments, or coroner offices.
What This Means for You
By contacting us immediately, we can deploy tracking/trailing canines to establish direction of travel and area scent canines to cover broad search zones. Our canines can even determine whether a person entered a vehicle.
Our HRD canines are trained on varying volumes and source types — from a single drop of blood to a full body — across containers, clothing, and diverse environments. They can also detect whether remains are elevated or buried.
After every search, SAR K9 provides a detailed report that includes CalTopo GPS tracks along with all team personnel and canines involved.
Team Training & Operations
Our members are trained in specialized disciplines including:
- Crime Scene Preservation
- Lost Person Behavior
- Man Tracking
- Search Etiquette / Ground Operations
- Scent Theory
- K9 Search Strategy
- FEMA Classes
- CalTopo
- Please inquire for a complete list of required courses
This training ensures our members can arrive on scene and immediately assess the situation, formulate a search strategy, and coordinate activation.
We train our canines across varied environments, weather conditions, times of day, and noise levels so they adapt quickly to any search area.
We establish and run an Incident Command Post for every deployment. Using CalTopo software linked to Garmin GPS collars worn by the canines, we monitor each handler/canine team in real time — minute by minute. We can also link other teams and agencies to provide full visibility of every person on a search.