K9 SAR Team with South Carolina Search & Rescue Dog Association achieves national certification with North American Police Work Dog Association

Team Dock, a K9 SAR team with the South Carolina Search & Rescue Dog Association (SCSARDA), a non-profit, all-volunteer professional search and rescue team dedicated to finding missing people with highly trained search dogs, has attained a national certification from the North American Police Work Dog Association (NAPWDA). Handler Marion Tisdale with K9 Dock received certification in SAR area search. NAPWDA specializes in “the development, improvement, training and certification of police work dogs” and assists in certifying working dog teams on various all-volunteer and other teams.

Marion Tisdale with K9 Dock

Handler Tisdale with border collie Dock passed the search and rescue area search test which includes a dog searching an area while off-leash, finding the subject, alerting back to the handler, and leading the handler in to the subject. The test also requires NAPWDA police obedience certification, which includes off-leash heeling, voice commands, and emergency down. This is Tisdale’s second NAPWDA certification; his first was achieved with K9 Maya, a German Shepherd mix rescue.

Tisdale is a board member with the international organization and non-profit Canine Search and Recovery (CSAR), a 501(c)(3) organization that provides training, networking, and education for volunteer and professional K9 SAR handlers and works “to promote the increased use of search dogs in all aspects of detection.” Tisdale has been a K9 handler with SCSARDA for ten years, and has served as an officer since 2018. He holds an Emergency Medical Responder certification and the NASAR SAR Tech II certification. Tisdale has also taken coursework in lost person behavior, managing the land search operation, and other advanced SAR courses. All SCSARDA members take Incident Command System (ICS) 100, 200, 700, 800, a Fundamentals of Search and Rescue class, CPR, and First Aid.

“We are so proud of Marion’s achievements over the years,” said Mitch Henderson, President of SCSARDA. “Area search is one of three K9 search disciplines that we pursue as a team and involves searching wilderness areas in systematic sweeps while the K9 is off-leash. Marion is a very accomplished handler in area search, achieving NAPWDA certification with two very different K9s, and he is a tremendous asset to the team. Whether they are pursuing trailing, human remains detection, or area search with their K9s, we encourage all of our K9 teams to pursue national certification with NAPWDA.”

“NAPWDA’s experienced Master Trainers offer our K9 teams an experienced, objective assessment and guidance. We are very grateful to Roy Lopez, a retired canine handler with the U.S. Border Patrol and former Navy Seal, for his expertise during Marion’s NAPWDA certification. Mr. Lopez was the Border Patrol’s first certified trailing canine handler, a founding member of the agency’s Search, Trauma and Rescue K9 program, and a graduate of the agency’s SAR Canine Instructor school. To have somebody with his credibility and years in the field assess one of our K9 teams is a privilege.”

Tisdale, a resident of Spartanburg, received his bachelor’s degree in industrial management from Clemson University.

The South Carolina Search and Rescue Dog Association

The South Carolina Search and Rescue Dog Association (SCSARDA) is an all-volunteer professional search and rescue team with highly trained search dogs dedicated to helping find those who are lost, from children to hikers to drowning victims to those with Alzheimer’s. Founded in 2002, SCSARDA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization which serves as a specialized resource for emergency services agencies. We respond to requests from emergency services agencies on a 24/7 basis and our services are provided entirely free of charge. For more information on SCSARDA visit http://www.scsarda.org or like https://www.facebook.com/SCSARDAK9.