Interested in learning more about Search and Rescue? It’s a wonderful way to volunteer but it also takes an immense amount of dedication, training, and money. I spent years training my partner Larkin and retired her when I became a mother, because I knew I would never have the time it takes to keep up our skills. And even in spite of the years of training, and time spent on several different search teams, I never used her on a real search.
I think she was good enough – I always thought that. But you know what? I don’t know if I ever had all the confidence I needed to be a handler. The pressure can be intense. When you are out there on a search, there is a life at stake. You can never forget that. When you get that phone call in the middle of the night, it’s someone’s child, mother, father, grandparent who has gone missing. I’ve found my refuge in writing about it. What about you?
I think this page is a good way to start thinking about getting involved in Search and Rescue.
Here are some other links to great resources:
Tennessee Special Response Team (http://www.tnsrta.org/ )
National Association of Search and Rescue (http://www.nasar.org/nasar/ )
National Search Dog Alliance (http://www.n-sda.org/ )