Carol Sanner of Girdwood and her Border Collie, Meg, were recently evaluated and certified as mission- ready for wilderness search. Visiting members of the Brunswick Search and Rescue Team (BSAR) from southeastern North Carolina were in Girdwood in August to train with Carol and her SAR dogs, Drew and Meg. Sanner and Meg met the BSAR members last spring while attending the National Search and Rescue Association conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. BSAR team member Roxye Marshall and her dog, Mandy, have been living and training in Girdwood through the month of August. Roxye and K9 Mandy are certified in wilderness and cadaver, with special experience in water search. BSAR K9 Training Director and long-time dog trainer, Christy Judah, is a former Anchorage resident and while on vacation to her former home for a week, generously donated her time to observe and evaluate Carol and Meg. K9 Meg and her owner passed the rigorous Wilderness Air Scent test by finding a person in forest and bog terrain of about 100 acres. During the evaluation, the handler is required to demonstrate a working knowledge of canine first aid, search strategy, SAR equipment, map reading skills, wilderness survival and SAR dog handling skills. They succeeded in locating the simulated victim, Cindy Nielsen of Girdwood, in approximately 45 minutes where she had been placed out of sight by the evaluators about an hour before the test began.
“It has been a pleasure training and evaluating Ms. Sanner and her search and rescue canines, Drew and Meg,” said Roxye Marshall, Brunswick Search and Rescue Team Board of Director Member. “Ms. Sanner demonstrated a high degree of search and rescue expertise and knowledge is certainly an asset to the Girdwood –Anchorage communities. Her professionalism and experience make her an excellent leader for the newly forming SAR team.”
For almost 40 years, Sanner has been involved in search and rescue, beginning as a ski patroller at age 16. She has participated in avalanche, wilderness, and law enforcement searches for lost or missing persons throughout Interior and South Central Alaska. Switching to K9 handling in 1995, she has been a member of the National Association for Search and Rescue and has trained and tested with her Border Collie, Drew, in Alaska, Nevada, North Carolina, and Florida. Drew, now retired and working as a therapy dog for Alzheimer’s patients, was trained to work in wilderness, avalanche, human remains, and disaster search. Drew still enjoys search exercises and assists with Meg’s training. Sanner and Meg will continue to work toward certification in avalanche, disaster, and human remains search. With these credentials, Sanner, now retired, will be able to respond to search and rescue callouts when notified by local, state and national law enforcement, or emergency management agencies.
Sanner is offering an introductory class this fall through Four Valleys Community School in training dogs and handlers for search and rescue. Watch the Fall FVCS Program for information and registration or Ms. Sanner at 783-2912.