Sheriff's Search and Rescue Dog Teams Train at Mast Park

Search and rescue teams roamed Wednesday morning looking for lost joggers as part of a training operation with nine dogs, about 20 volunteers and a mobile command unit from the Sheriff's Department.

Not only were local units training and qualifying to be court experts, but four members of the Polk County, Iowa Sheriff’s Department took part in order learn from the great local volunteers and go back home to create their own search and rescue unit.

K‐9 Unit members all undergo a five‐month academy and their dogs meet and/or exceed California guidelines for search dogs. There are 15 dogs in the Sheriff's SAR K‐9 Unit and they train twice a week.  

The Sheriff's Search and Rescue team is made up of 190 volunteers that train hard with their dogs to be on call 24 hours a day ready to find and rescue missing people from the city to the country.

Read more at The Santee Review, the city's blog