From the Tragedy of the Oklahoma City Bombing Was Born a Human-Canine Bond That Relentlessly Saves Lives

By Giving List Staff   |   November 26, 2022
The bond between handler and canine provides the solid foundation for their work together, and extends into all aspects of their lives, whether at home or on the job.

When two children got lost during a hike in rural New York with oncoming rain commingling with the darkening night, it wasn’t drones or thermal heat sensors that found them. It was Luka, a Belgian Malinois search dog. His enthusiastic signal led his handler away from the search area to a steep ravine, where they were found in the dark, cold but unharmed.

It was only a few years earlier when Luka himself needed rescuing. Found by an animal control officer in Central California as a stray, a rotating host of temporary owners deemed Luka “un-adoptable.” That is, before the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation found him.

The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation is unlike any other organization in the U.S., having pioneered a model that has helped hundreds of dogs, created highly skilled search teams, filling a critical need by pairing the rescued with rescuers. 

Teams have been part of search-and-rescue efforts including 9/11, earthquakes in Haiti, the Camp Fire (in the Sierra Nevada Mountains; this was the deadliest and most destructive fire in California’s history) and the deadly mudslides in Montecito in 2018. 

Oddly, certain behavioral traits that often make dogs poor pets make for great rescue dogs.

“These dogs won’t quit,” says Denise Sanders, senior director of communications and handler operations. “We look for those that are super high energy, toy obsessed, and have laser-like focus on the job at hand. That’s what you need to ensure resilience during deployments when there’s difficult terrain and rough conditions.”

The foundation combs shelters, finding dogs that train for up to 12 months at their 145-acre National Training Center in Santa Paula, California, and are teamed with first responders across the nation to complete their certification. The foundation also provides a lifetime commitment of care for the dog and ongoing training for handlers.

“The reason that these search teams are able to do this work so well is because of the relationship between handler and dog,” Sanders says. “Our handler training program focuses on the depth and longevity of that bond, building on the historical foundation that humans and dogs have always partnered and been companions.”

This vision was born in 1995, when founder Wilma Melville combed through the rubble of the Oklahoma City bombing with her search dog, Murphy. That harrowing experience made her realize the need for more highly trained search teams. 

She started with the goal of training 168 certified canine disaster search teams to honor the 168 victims of the bombing. The foundation exceeded that goal in 2020 and has now trained and certified more than 229 teams, with 84 currently working across the country assisting with landslides, missing persons, and collapsed structures this year alone, including 21 in the Los Angeles area (12 in the Bay Area and 57 across California). 

 

National Disaster Search Dog Foundation

Donate now!

SearchDogFoundation.org
(888) 4K9-HERO
(805) 646-1015
Executive Director: Rhett Mauck

Mission

Our mission is to strengthen disaster response in America by rescuing and recruiting dogs and partnering them with firefighters and other first responders to find people buried alive in the wreckage of disasters.

Begin to Build a Relationship

We know you care about where your money goes and how it is used. Connect with this organization’s leadership in order to begin to build this important relationship. Your email will be sent directly to this organization’s Director of Development and/or Executive Director.

Disasters Happen. It’s Not a Matter of If, But When…

In a time of crisis, nothing matters more than who your partners are. During Santa Barbara‘s 1/9 debris flow which followed the 2017 Thomas Fire, National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, with 18 of their search teams deployed, played a crucial role in our search and rescue operation. I cannot say enough about the vital importance of the work that is being done by this organization.
Kevin Taylor
Fire Chief
Montecito Fire Protection District

Saving Lives, Both Human and Canine

The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation has rescued and trained 279 dogs that have, in turn, rescued humans in disasters. Over 26 years, these expert teams have worked in the largest disasters: from 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the earthquakes in Haiti to missing persons and small structure collapses throughout the country. 

The foundation has pioneered a model for screening, training, and providing a lifetime of care for each dog it rescues, along with ongoing expert support for handlers. 

But the U.S. only has half the amount of search teams truly needed. The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation has a goal of training 20 teams in the next year, while ensuring every dog that enters its program will be successful, whether as a disaster search dog or in another career, by fostering the bonds that will create the next generation of working dogs.

With a gift to the foundation, you can save lives both human and canine.  

Be Part of the Search today.

Key Supporters

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
George Leis – Board Chair, President and COO, Montecito Bank & Trust
Dennis Kuykendall – Board Vice Chair, Project Executive, Balfour Beatty Construction
Mike J. Diani – Secretary, President, Diani Building Corp.
Richard Butt, Retired EVP, Executive Creative Director, VMLY&R
Robert Harris, Battalion Chief, Los Angeles County Fire Department
George R. Haynes, Ph.D., CEO, National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
Crystal Wyatt, Leadership in Board Governance and Creative & Sustainable Philanthropy