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

________________________________________________________________

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

_________________________________________________________________________

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