# can you make a career in SAR?



## Benjamin Allanson (May 2, 2008)

the title says it all. i am a nursing student whos main interest is dogs, ive been trying to find a career where i can use both skills. is it possible?


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

I don't know if you are in the US or Canada, but in Canada you can make a career as a military SAR tech. (Well I don't know if YOU can, but it is possible for suitable individuals). It falls under airforce. There is no dog handling though. Your medical skills would be an asset.

Perhaps in the US they have military SAR techs that are also dog handlers?

There are some paid ski patrol positions available in the USA and Canada, and if you work at a mountain with avalanche hazard, they employ some avi rescue dogs. This is a way to work a dog at work, on top of being available for SAR callouts. However...you must be an ski patroller first, and have that skill set (including the avalanche work non dog related skills) , and then work your way to a dog handler in the vast majority of cases. AND...you are not going to make a very good living at it.

That is the best I can think of. It is slim pickings. If you are young, and the right type of person, have you considered fire, or LE? No guarantee of EVER working a dog though. Some programs may be more of a chance than others....


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## Benjamin Allanson (May 2, 2008)

No military for me but I have thought allot about law enforcement. From what I have heard though it can be a long time and quite politcal trying to get into the position of dog handler. Anyone have any input about that?


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## Mike Lauer (Jul 26, 2009)

more "extremely competitive" than political IMHO


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

We have some nurses on our SAR team. The medical skills do not cross over to treating the victims other than as a first responder, but it is good for if a team member gets hurt during training........a profession, yes. Paid, no.

I think the only K9SAR folks in the states who get paid are FEMA handlers.......but only during actual callouts, not training.

I am pretty sure LE departments vary greatly at any kind of focus on finding missing people as opposed to criminals. Most decent SAR teams have a relationship with their local LE and are called out by them. (or whoever manages searches, which is LE in our state but some states use fire and others emergency management)


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## Jerry Cudahy (Feb 18, 2010)

Benjamin Allanson said:


> the title says it all. i am a nursing student whos main interest is dogs, ive been trying to find a career where i can use both skills. is it possible?


Benjamin,

You answered yourself, IMO.

Nursing is a paid career. Pays the bills.

Those skills will be a major asset in any venue that involve dogs.

Have you ever thought of taking a Small Animal Vet Tech Credit?

You asked if it is all possible ???

Answer is a Big Yes


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

Nancy Jocoy said:


> I think the only K9SAR folks in the states who get paid are FEMA handlers.......but only during actual callouts, not training.


There are some FEMA and SUSAR (State Urban Search and Rescue) teams associated with fire departments whose members get paid for training. A person can make a living as a firefighter who also handles/trains a FEMA/SUSAR dog. However, their main duty is as a firefighter, and the handling/training of the FEMA dog is an extra duty on top of that. I'm not sure the pay amounts to much really, but I don't know exactly what they get since the FEMA team I belong to doesn't pay us for anything except deployments. The SUSAR team I belong to (which is a part of our Department of Homeland Security) is completely volunteer - we get no pay, not even for deployments.


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## Benjamin Allanson (May 2, 2008)

Nancy, how do the medical skills not cross over? just curious on your thoughts.

Jerry I have not thought about taking any credits towards a vet tech degree because from what i think i know they get paid allot less than what a nurse can. My thinking is that I could work less as a nurse and make more money. So I would have more spare time to do something dog related like training or whatever. Unless you were talking about something different with the small animal credits...


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Benjamin Allanson said:


> Jerry I have not thought about taking any credits towards a vet tech degree because from what i think i know they get paid allot less than what a nurse can. My thinking is that I could work less as a nurse and make more money. So I would have more spare time to do something dog related like training or whatever. Unless you were talking about something different with the small animal credits...


Yeah, that's definitely true. Veterinary nurses/techs that are licensed (I prefer to call registered/licensed techs nurses instead of techs) definitely get paid much less than human nurses, which is too bad because a good one is worth their weight in gold. In some states, one does not have to be licensed/registered/certified to be called a "vet tech," but in others, you do. I actually do know a SAR handler who is also a vet tech, but I'm not sure how much cross over she has and I know she's not licensed, but she's quite experienced.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Benjamin Allanson said:


> Nancy, how do the medical skills not cross over? just curious on your thoughts.
> 
> Jerry I have not thought about taking any credits towards a vet tech degree because from what i think i know they get paid allot less than what a nurse can. My thinking is that I could work less as a nurse and make more money. So I would have more spare time to do something dog related like training or whatever. Unless you were talking about something different with the small animal credits...


My response was they DO cross over relative to medical issues with teammates and dogs during training if you are on a typical K9 SAR team. 

Usually K9 SAR teams are strictly volunteer *search *teams with medical support to the victim provided by the paid paramedics, EMTs, etc. ......it depends on the team but that seems to hold true for most folks I know on other teams.

Our liability insurance and training does not cover us providing extensive medical care other than making sure the victim is ok until help arrives-so any thing you do or don't do will be at the decision of the IC. It is already our biggest single expense and if it had to cover providing medical care it would probably go out the window. When you become a trained professional things get dicey RE "Good Samaritan" 

K9 SAR is a specialized tool for one job - locate the victim using specific techniques. And may or may not be used depending on which tool is the best for the particular job.

The schedule for nurses, paramedics, EMTs, fire, law DOES make it condusive to having blocks of free time for SAR work. Conversely, I know the nurses on our team often have a harder, not easier, time getting off scheduled work for a callout and people don't tend to consult work schedules when they decide to get lost (other than trying to figure out the worst possible time to go missing)


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

My response is based on direct knowledge of several east coast teams............you should find out what it is like where you live but I really do think that is more the norm than the exception..


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## Lamar Blackmor (Aug 1, 2010)

what board is this? no man nurse jokes?


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## Benjamin Allanson (May 2, 2008)

Thanks Nancy I see what you are saying. Thank you for your info. I'll do some more research on SAR teams in my area.


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