British Columbia Search Dog Association
Existing and prospective K9 Handlers, Fall camp is coming soon!
Fall Camp will be September 26 – October 1st in Merritt, stay tuned for more details.
About British Columbia Search Dog Association
BCSDA is a volunteer, not-for-profit association dedicated to training and maintaining a network of professional Ground Search and Rescue canine teams throughout British Columbia.
Under the umbrella of Emergency Management BC, BCSDA is the only agency authorized to train civilian wilderness searching K9’s in support of Ground Search and Rescue teams throughout the province.
SAR canine teams are validated annually by the RCMP Police Dog Services and must meet the RCMP National Wilderness SAR Canine Standard at either the spring or fall training courses.
Validated Search Dog Teams are all members of their local Ground Search and Rescue teams and respond to tasking requests through the Provincial Emergency Program, as requested by the RCMP.
New handlers wishing to attend one of our training courses must complete the basic GSAR course prior to attending, be a member of a GSAR team registered with EMBC for a minimum of two years, and provide BCSDA with a letter from their GSAR team endorsing their plan to become search dog handlers (see link below for more info on search dog handler requirements).
So you want to be a SAR dog handler...
We welcome new handlers to our training weekends for puppy/new dog assessments but there are some prerequisites. New handlers wishing to attend one of our weekends must complete the basic GSAR course prior to attending, be a member of a GSAR team registered with EMBC, and provide BCSDA with a letter from their GSAR group endorsing their plan to become search dog handlers (see link below for more info on search dog handler requirements).
