Train for the worst. Hope for the best.

NDSD handlers and their canine teammates travel to major disaster scenes, each time wondering what unique challenges they will face there. Read on to learn more about some of our major deployments…..

Oklahoma City Bombing, 1995

Bruce and Hunter face their first large-scale disaster.

KAL Airliner Crash, 1997

La Fond Davis discusses the difficulty of searching in high heat, high humidity and deep mud.

Oklahoma Tornado, 1999

La Fond Davis and Sunny look for the last missing person.

World Trade Center Collapse, 2001

Jane David and Kita face unimaginable tragedy in New York City.

Columbia Space Shuttle, 2003

Kent Olson and Thunder encounter difficult terrain and a host of native wildlife in their shuttle debris searches.

Hurricane Katrina, 2005

Four of our K-9 teams have been deployed with the Washington Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (WATF-1) to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Updates are available via Pierce County's Emergency Information Website.