The PowerPoint was created by Carolyn M. Appleton for Travis County Kennel Club. The presentation was given in fall, 2015 during a meeting of the Board, and the Club subsequently donated pet oxygen mask kits to TEXSAR for its search and rescue activities, which do occasionally involved rescuing pets.

1. TEXAS SEARCH
AND RESCUE
for the
Travis County Kennel Club
November 17, 2015

3. "Committing to service-above-
self, perpetual training, and
inter-agency cooperation to
maintain a constant state of
readiness for search, rescue,
incident response and above all
else, safety."
TEXSAR
MISSION

4. • Established in May, 2005
• Former: United States Homeland
Emergency Response Organization
• All volunteer (180 core volunteers)
• Year-round training (volunteers
must attend 50% of annual
sessions)
• Volunteers must undergo
background checks and complete
basic training from National
Incident Management System
(NIMS) before deployment
FACTS

7. The National Incident Management
System (NIMS) is a standardized
approach to incident management
developed by the Department of
Homeland Security. The program was
established in March of 2004, and is
intended to facilitate coordination
between all responders (including all
levels of government with public,
private, and nongovernmental
organizations).
NIMS

9. • Deployed only by the Governor of
Texas; local, state and federal law
enforcement; and relief
organizations
• No charge to those requesting
TEXSAR’s assistance
• Teams currently based in Central
Texas (hub); Gulf Coast; North
Texas and West Texas
• Volunteers being recruited all the
time – consider joining today!
FACTS

10. • Team Capabilities
– Search and Rescue
– K-9 Search and Recovery
– Incident Management
– Technical Rope Rescue
– Flood and Swift Water Rescue
– Wildland Fire
– Disaster Recovery and Relief
– Field Rehab and Resources
• Partnering Assets
– Dive and Water Recovery
– Medical Deployment

11. • Disaster Relief (including Hurricanes
Katrina, Rita, Ike and Isaac)
• Central Texas Floods
• Large Event Safety and Support
• Missing Person Searches
• Support/Rehab for Central Texas Fires
• Victim Extractions and First Aid
• Air Search Operations
• Canine Searches
• Water Searches
• Shelter Operations
• Community Service and Education
WHAT TEXSAR
HAS DONE

13. • Incident Command
• Logistics
• Planning
• Finance
• Operations
• Fundraising
• Firefighting
• Ground Search and Rescue
• High Angle Rescue
• Swift Water Rescue
• Rescue Diver
• Boat Operator
• K-9 Handler
• K-9 Flanker
• Physicians and/or Nurses
• Paramedic
• Legal Advisors
• Meteorologists
• Crime Scene Preservation
• Communication Protocols
• CPR and First Aid
• Fire Behavior
• GIS Specialists
• Linguist/Translators
• HAZMAT
• Helicopter Pilot
• Landing Zone Management
• Lost Person Behavior
• Mantracking
• Wilderness Navigation
• Fundraising
• Public Relations
• Social Media Ninjas
• Network Techs
• Film and Photographers
Volunteers Sought

15. • Integrity and Responsibility (ethics)
• Fiscal Accountability (public trust)
• Teamwork (mutual respect, diversity,
open communication)
• Excellence (highest quality service
delivery)
• Training (constant training and
readiness)
• Operations (meeting or exceeding
expectations while ensuring safety for
all)
TEXSAR
CORE
VALUES

18. “One well-trained canine can be more
effective than 6 human search and
rescue professionals. Dogs experience
the world through their noses. With
some 200 million scent receptors
(humans have only 5 million), dogs
can find graves that are several years
old. Though canines are not a silver
bullet, in appropriate searches,
TEXSAR canines provide an excellent
tool to find the missing.”
DR. BEN
ALEXANDER
OF TEXSAR

20. • Nationally certified
(canine/handler teams are
recertified every 2 years for live
find , yearly for human remains
detection)
• Trailing dogs – 2 teams (urban
and wilderness)
• Wilderness search – 3 teams (40
acres and larger)
• Cadaver – 12 teams (land and
water)
TEXSAR
K-9
PROGRAM

22. • Portability and flexibility – K-9s can
be used in:
– Rubble
– Large tracts of land
– Water
– To find cold case remains
• Acuity:
– Differentiate between animal and
human
– 1 ppt sensitivity (parts per trillion)
K-9
BENEFITS

23. • TEXSAR Suitability Evaluation
• Dogs must have “balance of
drives”
– Social (interact with a
group of dogs or people)
– Prey (chase or capture)
– Play (toy)
– Hunt (use nose when prey
not visible)
TEXSAR
K-9S

24. • Nerve strength
– “Canine’s ability to deal with
or adapt to stress-producing
environmental stimuli”
• Reward system (positive
reinforcement)
• Must be under 3 years of age
TEXSAR
K-9
TRAITS

25. • Belgian Malinois
• Border Collie
• German Shepherd
• Golden Retriever
• Labrador Retriever
COMMONLY
SUCCESSFUL
BREEDS

28. “Certification includes proper
command control, agility skills, a
focused bark alert to indicate a live
find, and a willingness to persist to
search for live victims in spite of
possible extreme temperatures and
animal, food and noise distractions. The
canine must also be confident enough
to search independently and must be
able to negotiate slippery surfaces,
balance wobbly objects underneath his
feet and go through dark tunnels.”
FEMA &
TEXSAR
STANDARDS

29. “In the most basic terms, the
search dog handler must support
the search dog at all times on a
search and place the dog in the
most likely position to succeed.”
Angela Eaton Snovack
Barron’s Guide to
Search and Rescue Dogs
K-9
HANDLERS

30. THANK YOU!
TEXSAR INFORMATION:
CAROLYN.APPLETON@TEXSAR.ORG
OR
KAREN.KNOX@TEXSAR.ORG
TEXSAR K-9 TEAM LEADER:
BEN.ALEXANDER@TEXSAR.ORG

31. P.O. Box 171258
Austin, Texas 78717
www.texsar.org

33. • A Slice in Time (Golden Retrievers:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/122619378/4-dog-puppy-
golden-retriever-dogs)
• Carolyn M. Appleton, Inc.
(https://carolynmappletoninc.wordpress.com/)
• Dr. Ben Alexander
(http://www.texsar.org/2014/03/20/ben-alexander/)
• Grand Rapids Golden Retriever Examiner (Labrador
Retriever: http://www.examiner.com/article/search-
rescue-so-that-others-may-live)
• Navy Seals (Belgian Malinois:
http://navyseals.com/2163/the-dogs-of-the-navy-seals/)
• The Virginian-Pilot (German Shepherd:
http://www.pilotonline.com/)
• Christopher Vu (TEXSAR search imagery:
http://www.christophergandinle.com/about/)
Other images provided by the
Department of Homeland Security, GuideStar,
State of Texas and TEXSAR
POWERPOINT
BY
CAROLYN M.
APPLETON
IMAGE
CREDITS: