Are you interested in becoming involved in a good cause? Do you have an interest in helping find missing or lost people? Do you like being active in the outdoors? Do you like being around dogs?
If you have answered yes to the above, consider becoming a member of Eagle Valley Search Dogs, a nonprofit 501c3 volunteer organization, dedicated to help locate lost and missing individuals. We are looking for enthusiastic and dedicated individuals who are interested in joining and filling a variety of positions such as Flankers, and Support Staff.
Prior experience is not required but candidates should possess the following qualities: A desire and willingness to learn, self-motivation, a comfort with the outdoors, and a passion to help others. If this describes you please continue reading.....
If you have answered yes to the above, consider becoming a member of Eagle Valley Search Dogs, a nonprofit 501c3 volunteer organization, dedicated to help locate lost and missing individuals. We are looking for enthusiastic and dedicated individuals who are interested in joining and filling a variety of positions such as Flankers, and Support Staff.
Prior experience is not required but candidates should possess the following qualities: A desire and willingness to learn, self-motivation, a comfort with the outdoors, and a passion to help others. If this describes you please continue reading.....
What is Search and Rescue?
Search and Rescue (SAR) involves a team of trained personnel who are requested by an agency such as Law Enforcement, Fired Departments, OEM, and other Search and Rescue teams to assist in searching for someone who may be missing, lost, or overdue and possibly in distress. This can include but is not limited to the lost hiker, overdue hunter, child or autistic individual, Alzheimer’s or Dementia patients who have wondered away from their residents, at risk persons or despondent and more. Other types of cases include recovery missions and forensic type searches where the skills of trained SAR professionals can be of assistance to an agency.
Those that are involved in search and rescue come from all walks of life, professions, and backgrounds but what they all have in common is 1) a love of the outdoors and 2) a desire to help people. There are approximately 1500 search and rescue teams in the US that are predominantly nonprofit organizations with a common goal; to offer search, rescue, and recovery services to agencies and the families at no cost. These organizations fund some of their operating costs through fundraising and donations. Their non-paid personnel consists of dedicate volunteers who contribute their own time and most often their own expense for travel, training, continuing education, and personal equipment.
Search and rescue is physically and mentally challenging and requires a large commitment of time and self-motivation to achieve the expertise and proficiency to become a certified resource for a search mission. Depending on your specialty, such as a K9 handler, the time commitment can require training several times per week, in addition to regularly scheduled team trainings.
Those that are involved in Search and Rescue are driven by a dedication to help reunite the missing or lost with their loved ones.
Those that are involved in search and rescue come from all walks of life, professions, and backgrounds but what they all have in common is 1) a love of the outdoors and 2) a desire to help people. There are approximately 1500 search and rescue teams in the US that are predominantly nonprofit organizations with a common goal; to offer search, rescue, and recovery services to agencies and the families at no cost. These organizations fund some of their operating costs through fundraising and donations. Their non-paid personnel consists of dedicate volunteers who contribute their own time and most often their own expense for travel, training, continuing education, and personal equipment.
Search and rescue is physically and mentally challenging and requires a large commitment of time and self-motivation to achieve the expertise and proficiency to become a certified resource for a search mission. Depending on your specialty, such as a K9 handler, the time commitment can require training several times per week, in addition to regularly scheduled team trainings.
Those that are involved in Search and Rescue are driven by a dedication to help reunite the missing or lost with their loved ones.
Field Positions Available
We currently have openings for flankers only. This is a field position that requires that the candidate be comfortable being in the outdoors and in the wilderness, in any weather conditions (e.g. rain, snow, hot and humid weather, temperatures in the single digits) and have the physical stamina to walk through steep and uneven terrain, walk nonstop for several hours, travel distances ranging from 5 to 10 miles, and be on their feet for an 8 to 10 hour day.
Flankers are team personnel who are deployed alongside K9/handler teams. They are an essential resource to the SAR mission as they serve as expert navigators, clue finders, radio operators, and scribes. They also assist with patient assessments and first aid, and are second pair of eyes and ears to the K9/handler team. Flankers are trained to be proficient land searchers which includes, knowledge and experience in navigation (map and compass), GPS, wilderness first aid, CPR, wilderness survival, incident command system, crime scene preservation, clue awareness, and other aspects of SAR fundamentals. By the time a flanker is qualified to be in the field, they will have personally acquired their “field ready” pack to self-sustain for 24 to 48 hours.
If you are interested in joining the search and rescue community, contact our training director Sue Lavoie at: slavoie@evdogs.org. who can further acquaint you with our application process.
Is a field position not for you? You can still get involved by participating in other areas. Visit our Get Involved page.
Want to see more of what we do, visit us on Facebook.
Is a field position not for you? You can still get involved by participating in other areas. Visit our Get Involved page.
Want to see more of what we do, visit us on Facebook.