April 1, 2009

General John W. Heltzel

Kentucky Division of Emergency Management

Frankfort, KY40601

Re: Search Dog Certification Standards and Recommendations

Dear Sir:

The members of the Search Dog Certification committee have read and considered the draft of the Kentucky Handler and Search Dog Certification Program. Our recommendations follow:

Recommendations

  • Create a Search Dog Evaluation Advisory Committee to oversee and/or approve applications, changes to the standards or procedures, mediate grievances, etc.
  • Plan for a two year time frame for all teams in the state to begin testing at the State certification level. This will give all teams an opportunity to prepare for the standards and for the Committee to smooth the process with each consecutive certification.
  • Quarterly update of state certified teams to be kept by KyEM and be available for EOC resources.
  • Schedule a “dry-run” in the fall of this year with the committee members and their search dogs to identify potential problems or changes that need to be made.
  • We will recommend changes to the cadaver dog tests at a later date. However, we request a written opinion by the Attorney General or other qualified legal advisor regarding the legality of search dogs being used for cadaver recovery as Chapter 39F.020 (4) specifically prohibits any rescue squads from performing duties other than traffic control once a search becomes a law enforcement issue.

Revisions:

  • Page 4: State Certification Test Application Process. Omit location as WendellH.FordTrainingCenter. We recommend the evaluations to be held in different venues across the state.
  • Page 4: In the 5th paragraph, insert a sentence stating that the applications must be post-marked no later than 90 days prior to the date of the certification. This allows 30 days for the applications to be evaluated, accepted, declined or request further information. Then 30-60 days for the applicant to provide any information requested by the committee.
  • Page 4: Change Applications shall be submitted to:

State Search and Rescue Committee Chair

(Address)

(Consider Don Franklin)

  • Page 5: Prerequisites for Certification Testing – change the verbiage to reflect the requirements listed on the Handler Application (See Appendix). We also recommend the Socialization/Obedience, Live Victim Search and Cadaver Search certifications to be run simultaneously rather than sequentially. We anticipate the number of teams to be evaluated to continue to increase. Simultaneous activities will allow for the most efficient use of time. For example, Air Scent Searches to be run at night, Trailing Searches to be run at dusk or dawn, Obedience, Socialization and Cadaver Search to be done during the day.
  • Page 5: The only dogs that MUST be working on lead are trailing dogs.
  • Page 9: Change the 4th bullet point to, “No aggressive dogs will be tested.”
  • Page 10: Under Socialization, remove “Tie Out.” Move the rest of the requirements through Page 12 to an Evaluation Form.
  • Page 13: Add a section for Qualifications and Requirements for Evaluators (Application included in Appendix)
  • Page 13: Evaluator Procedures – Change 2nd paragraph to state that Evaluators must have five years’ experience in the area of discipline to be evaluated. Lead evaluator (of the three evaluators) shall be the person with the most experience.
  • Page 14: Regarding Section VII, Subsection B, 5th bullet point – regarding cheating. Have a discussion at the beginning of the evaluation process that if a handler happens to see the victim before the dog locates the victim, they should notify the evaluators and allow the dog to finish the exercise without cueing the dog.
  • Page 14: Grievance committee shall be two members from KyEM and three members of the SARDog Advisory Committee who are not involved in the grievance.
  • Page 15: Remove “Tie Out.”
  • Page 18: At the beginning of certification two of the five agility components will be drawn for the dog/handler to complete. Three of five obedience components will be drawn. All socialization will be required unless the CGC or FEMA non-aggression test have been completed and submitted as part of the application.
  • Page 20: Change Hasty Search distance to 1/8 to ¼ mile.
  • Page 21: Regarding the 15 minute time limit – use 15 minutes as the guideline, but the time limit for finding the search area shall be determined by the lead evaluator.
  • Page 23: Delete the page, insert the Hasty Trailing Test for Wilderness and Urban submitted by Bud Dixon and Kevin Baker
  • Page 26: Section A, subsection (1) change wording to be …..any or all of bone, hair, teeth, and dried human tissue.
  • Page 26: Last bullet point change to: If a hide is not located, it is not necessarily a fail, however a false indication is an immediate fail.
  • Page 27: Omit shoreline test.
  • Page 28: Change 3rd bullet from….10-15 feet of the hide…to within reasonable distance (For example, two times the depth and considerations for wind, weather, climate, etc.)
  • Appendix: Revise all forms to reflect the recommended changes

We have included the revised Appendix forms for your review. We would like to thank you for this opportunity to improve the Kentucky Search Dog program.

Sincerely,

Lannis Garnett, Committee Chair

Commonwealth Canine Search and Recovery

Kevin Baker

Bluegrass Search and Rescue

Pam Brock

Grand Paws Search Dog Association

Tamara Hisatake Bumgardner, DVM

Commonwealth Canine Search and Recovery

Buck Bumgardner

Commonwealth Canine Search and Recovery

Bud Dixon

Jefferson CountySearch Dog Association

Fonzy Medley

Kentucky Search Dog Association

Patty Petzinger

Grand Paws Search Dog Association

Elbert C. Smith

Human Remains Detection & Recovery of Kentucky

Patsy Smith

Human Remains Detection & Recovery of Kentucky