A total of 21 dogs and handlers plus two instructors for each of three disciplines, a myriad of support personnel, and a great group of K9 helpers came together to make it possible. The event was held October 20-23 at Camp El Tesoro in Granbury TX. Camp staff there are outstanding, the facilities are excellent, and we have enjoyed an outstanding relationship with Camp El Tesoro for over fourteen years.
This year we also had the privilege of celebrating our team’s 40th anniversary at our Saturday night dinner and annual silent auction event. To help us celebrate, we invited some very special guests who played critical roles in our heritage as a search team. The guest list included Susann Brown and her husband Russ, David and Sue Daniel, Pat and Patricia Gilliland. We were also fortunate to have our very first dog handler, David Brownell, return as an instructor this year. David joined the team in 1986 and introduced us to the assets of a SAR K9 from his experience in the Air Force. Susan Brown and Pat Gilliland joined in 1992 and brought us the asset of seasoned K9 handlers after serving as active members of another K9 team in Ft. Worth.
Handlers from several law enforcement agencies and other regional search teams joined our handlers to work through multiple advanced scenarios related to their specific K9 discipline each day. It was a lot of work and physically taxing for handler and dog but the advancements made far outweighed the effort.
Adriane Lippian and her K9 LeRoy
Bowie County Sheriff SAR Team
Michael Stockdale and his dog Hank Benton County Sheriff’s Office – Arkansas
If you or someone you know are interested in participating as a handler, helper (hiding for the dogs), or in some other support role, we welcome your inquiries at info@searchone.org.
