Quote: Konnie Hein

Hi Kelly:
One of my FEMA teammates passed that test this weekend with her DS. She mentioned the miserable conditions! Glad I opted to take the test in NY, but November is pretty rainy here too so I might get stuck with similar conditions. Good test of the dogs' persistence in inclement weather though!

Awww- sad.... I didn't see a Dutchie out there!!!!! (and I'm always looking... lol) Glad she passed though, and good luck to you two in November!

Congratulations Konnie! I have to admit that your Juice to me is one of the handsomest malis I have seen. What do FSA, SUSAR, and CE stand for?

Ingrid:
I know, I know...all these letters!!!
I'm a canine search specialist for a FEMA team (MATF-1 = FEMA team based in Mass), as well as the canine coordinator and a canine search specialist for a my state's Department of Homeland Security team (CTTF-1 = Connecticut team). Any certification I pass through FEMA also qualifies me at the state level.

FSA = FEMA's "Foundation Skills Assessment"
The details of this evaluation (and the CE) can be found on http://www.disasterdog.org.
The FSA was formerly FEMA's Type II (Basic) deployment evaluation. However, a couple of years ago FEMA decided to make it an "in-house" eval and it is essentially a pre-test for the CE. SUSAR operates under certification procedures similar to what FEMA had before - the Type II and Type I system. So, passing this test also qualifies me as a Type II (Basic) certified disaster search resource for SUSAR. This means Juice and I can now be deployed through my state (SUSAR) team.

SUSAR = State Urban Search and Rescue
SUSAR is the association of state disaster search teams across the US. Most of these teams are funded by and are part of their state's emergency management agency. These teams usually operate the same as FEMA teams with all the same components and similar requirements.

CE = Certification Evaluation
This is FEMA's deployment evaluation for disaster search canines and handlers. If I pass this test, it means Juice and I will be a deployable resource through FEMA (I already have FEMA certification with my Labrador, so I'm currently deployable with him). It also means that Juice and I will be a Type I (Advanced) resource through SUSAR.

Hopefully these definitions make sense! And thanks for the compliments on Juice. I think he's a very handsome dog too, but then again, I'm his owner

Kelly - were you there on Sunday? That's the day my teammate tested. The DS is named "Kairu." Bigger dog, and the handler is a woman. Sorry you missed him!

And thank your significant other for us. It is often difficult to find people who want to hide in a dark, uncomfortable hole in rubble, brush, or pallet piles for hours on end.

Congratulations Konnie and Juice!

Impressive work, the pictures are great too!

Konnie thanks for posting what those letters mean!
Ingrid asked the question, but I was thinking the same thing.
It sure is impressive and I admire what you do!
Thank you for your service.

Congrats! Beautiful Dog. So after you get these titles how do you go about working as a search and rescuer with your dog? Is it all volunteer or do you actually end up working for the government, or EMS or something like that? It sounds like quite a rewarding career.

We were only there on Sat. Had SchH training on Sun! He does not mind dark, yucky holes. He is involved in our local ESAR group, and we'd like to get our Pointer into SAR (wilderness though, we're not cool enough/have enough time for urban- plus, we're surrounded by mtns, and it's where we spend our free time.).... if we can get a handle on her drives (squirrel, etc....lol) I'd love to do it with Koenig as well, and I know he'd do great, but have decided to stick to schH for now.

 Quote: Michelle-Pociask

Congrats! Beautiful Dog. So after you get these titles how do you go about working as a search and rescuer with your dog? Is it all volunteer or do you actually end up working for the government, or EMS or something like that? It sounds like quite a rewarding career.

Thanks, Michelle. A person must already be a member of a FEMA team in order to take the FEMA certification evaluations. This is true of the SUSAR evaluations as well. My FEMA team is deployed by the federal government, and my state team is deployed by the Governer of CT and the CT Department of Homeland Security. Generally speaking, we are all volunteers, although I do get paid for FEMA deployments. Some FEMA teams pay their members for training - usually that's true of teams sponsored through fire departments and the members are all FD personnel. My FEMA team isn't set up that way, so we don't get paid for training.

 Quote: Kelly Byrd

We were only there on Sat. Had SchH training on Sun! He does not mind dark, yucky holes. He is involved in our local ESAR group, and we'd like to get our Pointer into SAR (wilderness though, we're not cool enough/have enough time for urban- plus, we're surrounded by mtns, and it's where we spend our free time.).... if we can get a handle on her drives (squirrel, etc....lol) I'd love to do it with Koenig as well, and I know he'd do great, but have decided to stick to schH for now.

You will be way cooler than me if you do mountain SAR with your Pointer or DS! Rappelling out of helicopters, traversing dangerous terrain, carrying a pack with enough gear to last a week...that sounds pretty darn cool to me!

Seriously though, if you decide to get into that, I want to hear all about it. We have nothing like that here!