K9s And Handlers Train In Ahwahnee

They Showed, Placed, Rescued & Recovered in Record Time

MADERA COUNTY – K9s of all kinds, showed their skills during Madera County’s annual K9 training day held in Eastern Madera County over the weekend.

Participating in the training were 22 Madera County SAR Volunteers along with 42 Search & Rescue dog teams from as far south as San Diego and as far north as El Dorado County.

The California Rescue Dog Association (CARDA) Training & Certification was held on Saturday, Mar. 1, at the Ahwahnee Hills Regional Park.

Madera County has proudly hosted CARDA training events for more than a decade.

Dog teams are particularly fond of training in the area because Madera County is located in the heart of the state – equal travel for volunteers who come from all over California.

Equally important, Madera County offers the perfect setting for trailing, navigation and agility exercises, as well as rescue and recovery training.

Among those who participated in Saturday’s CARDA training were those who have responded to call-outs in Madera County in the past.

In April 2003, CARDA dog teams took part in the search for a woman who vanished from her home in Coarsegold. Karen Cornelison’s disappearance would be the catalyst for Sheriff John Anderson’s Operation Lost & Found program – a radio tracking system designed to help those who may suffer from medical conditions that may cause them to become confused or disoriented and make them prone to wander off.

Each K9 handler and canine partner must put in a minimum of 1,000 hours of training each year, and re-certify annually if they want to remain on the team.

Saturday’s event started at 8:30 a.m. with obedience and training, followed by trailing, agility, rescue and recovery.

Despite the record turnout of dog teams this year, the training went smoothly and all 42 teams completed 36 assignments in record time.

The program ended promptly 4:30 p.m. There were of course, a few breaks in between, to give both canines and their handlers some time to rest and hydrate.

CARDA Volunteers taking part in this year’s exercise included San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Merced, Sacramento, Alameda, El Dorado and Fresno.

(Photos courtesy of the Madera County Sheriff’s Office)