Santa Paula, California – May 17, 2008 – Today, the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF), the organization that provides the most highly trained canine-firefighter disaster search teams in the nation, announced that it has secured a $4.1 million 122-acre ranch site in Santa Paula, California, to build the first National Training Center of its kind. The National Training Center (NTC) will allow SDF to help strengthen America’s vulnerable emergency response network by training more teams to ensure that no one is left behind when disaster strikes.
“There’s nothing more basic than having the resources needed when human lives are at stake,” says SDF Executive Director Debra Tosch. “The National Search Dog Foundation’s ability to deliver highly trained teams at no cost to fire departments is especially important as emergency budgets are cut and resources are strained to the limit.”
Written by Spc. Rick L. Rzepka, 101st Airborne Division
Sunday, 03 February 2008
Ever had a Sergeant 1st Class lick your face?
For many Soldiers at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, this is not an odd event, but a regular occurrence.
Sgt. 1st Class Boe is the newest member of the 85th Medical Detachment Combat Stress Control unit at COB Speicher and is one of two K-9 therapists being used by the Army to help prevent and control the stresses of living in a combat zone.
Along with Staff Sgt. Mike Calaway, an Occupational Therapy Assistant with the Combat Stress Control unit, Boe is part of a new Army program, which encourages Soldiers to interact with dogs in order to help relieve the psychological stresses of war.
The first camp ever devoted to Animal Assisted Therapy – a weekend of workshops, presentations, training sessions, and special events for dogs and handlers -- will be held October 19 – 21 in Valley Cottage, NY on the campus of The Tolstoy Foundation. The camp is being conducted by the Hudson Valley Humane Society Visiting Pet Program.
The goal of the weekend is to improve the dog/handler bond and make every aspect of pet therapy safer, more effective, and more rewarding. With an impressive faculty roster, the weekend will be filled with invaluable information and interactive events for both dogs and handlers. Each day will feature interesting topics, hands-on workshops, debriefings, Q&A sessions, lively discussions, book signings, door prizes, and plenty of networking and information-sharing opportunities.
The PDSA Dickin Medal was recently presented to eight year old black Labrador, Sadie, a Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) arms and explosives search dog, for her gallant exploits in Afghanistan. In November 2005, Sadie located a booby-trap bomb concealed in a pressure cooker. The bomb was concealed behind a two-foot thick concrete blast wall within the United Nations compound in Kabul, Afghanistan. Rebels planted it under a pile of sand bags and planned to kill rescue workers minutes after a suicide bomb blast.
The "secondary" device was packed full with high explosives and attached to a remote-control detonation device. After the initial explosion, Sadie and handler Lance Corporal Karen Yardley, 26, were rushed in to search and secure the area. Sadie found the bomb then sat by it so that Karen could assess the situation. Her discovery saved possibly hundreds of soldiers and civilians from death and serious injury.
Santa Paula, California – May 17, 2008 – Today, the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF), the organization that provides the most highly trained canine-firefighter disaster search teams in the nation, announced that it has secured a $4.1 million 122-acre ranch site in Santa Paula, California, to build the first National Training Center of its kind. The National Training Center (NTC) will allow SDF to help strengthen America’s vulnerable emergency response network by training more teams to ensure that no one is left behind when disaster strikes.
Ever had a Sergeant 1st Class lick your face?
The first camp ever devoted to Animal Assisted Therapy – a weekend of workshops, presentations, training sessions, and special events for dogs and handlers -- will be held October 19 – 21 in Valley Cottage, NY on the campus of The Tolstoy Foundation. The camp is being conducted by the Hudson Valley Humane Society Visiting Pet Program.
The PDSA Dickin Medal was recently presented to eight year old black Labrador, Sadie, a Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) arms and explosives search dog, for her gallant exploits in Afghanistan. In November 2005, Sadie located a booby-trap bomb concealed in a pressure cooker. The bomb was concealed behind a two-foot thick concrete blast wall within the United Nations compound in Kabul, Afghanistan. Rebels planted it under a pile of sand bags and planned to kill rescue workers minutes after a suicide bomb blast.
