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TERRA PO Box 293366 Nashville, TN 37229 1.866.927.4601 |
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Working toward handling a mission ready dog or handler support in the field takes a minimum of 6 months after joining TERRA. The following is a list, but not the limit to, what is required to become mission ready…Handler: Application Fee $75; Membership Fee $50/yearly. Commit to a minimum of 8 hours of training weekly, as a team a minimum of 4 times a month. Learning Scent Theory, Search Strategy, First Aid/CPR (canine and human), National Incident Management System, Decomposition, Dog Behavior, Radio Communication, Map, Compass, GPS, Crime Scene Preservation, Subject Knowledge, & Boat Safety. You will be required to purchase the following…Uniform, K9 ID Cape/ID Patches, Harness, Long Lead, Blinkers for night searches, compass, flashlight, First Aid Kit (human/canine), PFD (human/canine), item required for disciplined training. Support: Only be required to purchase items they will need. Become a part of a family. Be an accountable team member. Be prepared to have interrupted weekend plans, dinner plans, and peaceful nights of sleep. Be prepared for stress & frustration. Be prepared for happiness, joy & overwhelming sense of pride. Be prepared to spend money on seminars outside of our group training. Be prepared to work 30 days without your dog before starting K9 training. Be prepared to get bitten by bugs, scared by snakes and frightened by sitting in the woods alone at night. Be prepared for our trainers to stay on you about training, commitment and giving 110%. Be prepared to help raise funds for our group by organizing fundraisers & soliciting donations. Bring your personality!
Potential Team Members This is a volunteer organization and you do not get paid. But understand that peoples’ lives are at stake and you can’t put a price on that. Team members depend on one another for training and support; if you are unable to fulfill this accountability partnership, please be honest with yourself. Search and rescue is a second full-time job! Expect long weekends, missed dinners, and leaving in the middle of that movie you’ve been waiting to see. But we’re a family too! TERRA understands the value of family, that’s why we’re in the business of saving them; therefore, we plan many social events throughout the year for our members and their families to attend to keep morale high and get everyone involved. Look forward to bonfires, hikes, team-building, tailgating, kayaking, and much more. TERRA team members train weekly as a team through field training and/or classroom training. These training sessions may vary in duration, difficulty, and content depending on your level. There is also a level of personal commitment through training at home to keep up with foundational skills and advancements. Most of your time as a newbie will be spent working on K9 obedience, reading all of the SAR literature you can get your hands on, playing scent commitment games with your dog, and bribing your neighbors to play hide & seek from your dog. We’re a home-grown team, so we’ve all been through all of the training and enjoy helping each other along the way, learning something new every time we do it, and making lasting friendships along the way. TERRA dogs are family members and working partners, therefore they live, work, and play with their handlers and engage in intensive social interaction, the foundation of victim loyalty. All of the dogs work hard at figuring out how to get everything they want through critical thinking and problem solving, the foundation of search work. A happy, confident dog is essential because search and rescue dogs are asked to problem solve and they must be able to think for themselves in order to problem solve and figure out how to achieve and accomplish goals. If you’re not already, you and your dog will soon become best friends, because handlers and their dogs must have a strong bond. Each handler/dog begins training by completing an extensive screening process. All new members, once they’ve completed the application process, will be on a 30-day Probationary Period. During the 30 days, the new member will be required to attend, at the minimum, 90% of training without their dog. Once completed, new member will be off the probationary period and will be required to follow Active Member Protocols.
Active Team Members Existing team members are required to attend a minimum of 80% of monthly trainings. All team members assist other team members with training sessions. Classroom and field sessions are required to learn both theory and application. All team members are exposed to and tested for proficiency a minimum of the following before becoming operational:
Field Support Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Certification Dog Language Dog-Dog Interaction Human 1st Aid K9 1st Aid and CPCR Map & Compass Scent Theory Search Tactics NIMS/ICS Communications Subject Knowledge: special topics covering subject profiles and tendencies; familiarity
Teams members are expected to work independently of others, while still accountable to the unit, working to accomplish common goals.
For more information on how to get involved, email info@trustterra.org. |
