Our teams
The people who go looking.
Every one of us is a volunteer. Select any member to read what they do and meet their dog.
- Members
- 8
- Canines
- 7
President
Jeremy
- Board of Directors
- Handler
- Flanker
- +1 more
President of the society and a working handler. Alongside his search role he keeps the vehicles and field equipment serviceable — the unglamorous work that decides whether a team actually reaches a search area.
Roles
- Board of Directors
- President
- Handler
- Flanker
- Mechanical officer
Canine
Cali
Deployable HRD
The society’s "Team Cali" mark is named for her.
Vice President
Ed
- Board of Directors
- Safety officer
- Emergency field first aid trainer
- +2 more
Carries the safety side of every deployment: field first aid, communications, and wildlife awareness for teams working remote northern ground. If a search is called, Ed decides whether it can be run safely.
Roles
- Board of Directors
- Vice President
- Safety officer
- Emergency field first aid trainer
- Technology & communications instructor
- Wildlife safety advisor
Treasurer
Caitlyn
- Board of Directors
- Base of Operations command centre officer
- Search coordinator
- +1 more
Runs the command centre and coordinates searches from base — mapping, tasking and tracking what ground has been covered. Also leads the society’s training programme and keeps its books.
Roles
- Board of Directors
- Treasurer
- Base of Operations command centre officer
- Search coordinator
- Training lead
Secretary
Meagan
- Board of Directors
- Handler
- Flanker
- +1 more
Secretary of the society and a handler working her own dog through training. Holds K9 first aid and is currently training into the Base of Operations role.
Roles
- Board of Directors
- Secretary
- Handler
- Flanker
- K9 first aid
Canine
Bonnie
HRD in training
Training Director
Teslin
- Board of Directors
- Flanker
- Field medical staff
Sets and runs the training standard for the society’s dogs and handlers. Doubles as field medical support on deployments, and is learning the Base of Operations role.
Roles
- Board of Directors
- Training director
- Flanker
- Field medical staff
Canine
Kenai
Up-and-coming HRD
Handler
Wayne
- Flanker
- Field member
Field handler working a tracking and trailing dog — the discipline used to follow where a person went, rather than search an area at large.
Roles
- Handler
- Flanker
- Field member
Canine
Athena
Tracking & trailing
Field Member
Gord
- Flanker
Field member and flanker, working two dogs at different stages of their training. Flanking is the job of reading terrain and wind alongside a handler so nothing gets missed.
Roles
- Field member
- Flanker
Canines
Pica
Up-and-coming HRD
Level one tracking.
Zane
HRD in training
Handler
Landon
- Flanker
- Field member
Handler and field member working an operational detection dog — one of the teams the society can put on the ground when a request comes in.
Roles
- Handler
- Flanker
- Field member
Canine
Gohan
Deployable & operational HRD
Training pathway
Two years before a team is any use to anyone.
This is the honest timeline. A dog that alerts on a training aid in a field is not a search asset. A dog that will work a burnt cut-block in November rain, twelve hours in, and still give a clean response — that is a search asset.
- 01Months 1–6
Foundation
Imprinting on target odour, building drive and focus, and establishing a clear, unmistakable trained final response.
- 02Months 6–18
Discrimination
Teaching the dog to ignore animal remains and distractor scents, and to work reliably through contaminated or high-traffic ground.
- 03Months 12–24
Environmental
Timber, cut-block, water, snow, elevation and rubble. Scent behaves differently in each, and the handler has to learn to read all of them.
- 04Continuous
Ongoing
Training never stops. Teams keep working new ground and new problems for the whole of a dog’s career, and a dog only deploys when its handler judges it ready.
Disciplines
Where our teams can work.
- 01
Land HRD
Wide-area & grid
- 02
Water HRD
Shoreline & boat
- 03
Buried & Historic
Aged & skeletal
- 04
Evidence Support
Investigative aid