SAR DOG NEWS Published by the National Search Dog Alliance March 2021 Vol. 15 issue 3 Next Board Meeting Date: April 1, 2021 Contact Corporate Secretary, Julie Grinnell, at [email protected] for access to the meeting Bucky Says REGULAR SAR DOG NEWS FEATURES What do you call a dog that Page Bucky Says 1 does magic? Board Meeting dates 1 Board of Directors & Founding Members 2 A Labracadabrador Synopsis/March BOD Meeting 3 Kibbles & Bits: Part 2 Breed Registries 7 The Last Howl 17 Training, Seminars & Conferences 18 SAR DOG NEWS March 2021 Page 2 The President’s Corner page 3 NSDA’s Newly Certified Team page 4 NSDA Board of Directors Soresto linked to deaths page 5 Want a NSDA test in your area? page 4 How to have a field test OFFICERS Flea collars Roy Pescador, President & CEO, Canada After you buy your dog food page 6 [email protected] Safety measures Joseph Stacks, Executive VP, Lady Gaga Offering $500,000.00 page 8 [email protected] No questions asked Julie Grinnell, Corporate Secretary, MI Not Forgotten page 9 [email protected] Operation Volunteer Strong Brendan Fike, Chief Financial Officer, MI Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland page 10 [email protected] 804 working dogs protected Sherry Scruggs, Director, GA Sale Items page 11 [email protected] Pick of the Pack Book, decals, etc. Search for Missing Hiker Josh Hall page 12 Search suspended FOUNDING MEMBERS— Hiker rescued on Mt. Washington page 13 K-9 Thor, Eileen M. Nobles, Susan Bulanda, K-9 Multiple teams searched Roo, Leslie Godchaux, Brian R. Hendrickson, Mock Avalanche Scenario Training page 14 Continental Kennel Club, Inc., K-9 River, K-9 Colorado Persha; Jan Thompson, K-9 Cali, Peggy Ann How to file an Avalanche Report page 15 Buchman; K-9 Geist 2021 Avalanche Deaths page 16 statistics SAR DOG NEWS March 2021 Page 3 The President’s Corner By Roy Pescador Hello readers. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the volunteers that make NSDA run s smoothly as it does. This organization would not exist without your time and effort. I also wanted to give a special thanks to our Co-Editors Norma Snelling and Sue Wolff. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and dedication to produce such a wonderful product monthly. Thank you, ladies. Our newsletter has over 1,600 subscribers and a multitude of others who download from the NSDA website. Soon on the horizon, NSDA will have new podcasts. Our educational material is being increased and we will be utilizing other forms of media to convey information to our members and the search dog community. The NSDA standards are currently in review while the Wilderness Cadaver beta testing is nearing its final stage of review. As COVID-19 restrictions change, perhaps we will have more opportunities to beta test the Urban Trailing standards. It is our intention to increase NSDA's visibility across the Social Media platforms. If you are interested in helping NSDA with its Social Media visibility, please review the article regarding moderator recruitment. Synopsis March 4, 2021 Board Meeting The updated Covid-19 Certification Extension letter has been posted on the NSDA website homepage. An online, Podcast-based conference is being planned for late fall. Podcast program development is progressing. Guests are being confirmed and the first episode will be ready soon. There are currently 1,639 subscribers to the NSDA Newsletter. NSDA Membership stands at 440 members. The next Board Meeting will take place by video conference on Thursday, April 1, 2021. SAR DOG NEWS March 2021 Page 4 NSDA Newly Certified Team MONTANA Keagan Zoellner and K-9 Cleo Our dogs appreciate Avalanche/Ski Patrol being used for SAR WANT A TEST IN YOUR AREA 3–9 HANDLERS TESTING? Less than 10 tests? You may be eligible for up to $300 in grant money from NSDA to bring in an Evaluator(s). Field Tests: $35.00 for members, $100.00 for non-members. Check our website at www.n-sda.org. Look at the top banner for Evaluators. Scroll down by discipline and locate an evaluator near you. They may know of other handlers in your area that also want to test and put together a group. Please be aware that testing may not be available in all areas of the United States. Check with your local authorities as to requirements for face mask, social distancing and number of persons in a group before planning a certification field test. SAR DOG NEWS March 2021 Page 5 SORESTO LINKED TO ANIMAL DEATHS A new report published jointly by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting and USA Today, links a popular flea collar brand to nearly 1,700 animal deaths in the U.S. Soresto, a common flea and tick collar for dogs and cats, has allegedly been tied to thousands of pet deaths, tens of thousands of animal injuries, and thousands of human illnesses, the report stated, citing documents from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The collars excrete pesticide to hopefully keep pets pest-free for up to eight months without harming them. However, some pet owners have pointed to the collars as the reason their dogs have suffered from lethargy, loss of motor functions, skin problems, and seizures. Since Soresto collars — which are developed by Bayer and now sold by Elanco — were introduced in 2012, the EPA has received incident reports of at least 1,698 pet deaths linked to the collars but has not issued a warning about any Soresto products, according to the report. Through June 2020, the EPA documents reportedly show there were more than 75,000 reported incidents related to the collars, 1,000 of which involved human harm. When reached for comment about the report's findings, the EPA provided the following statement. "Under the Biden-Harris Administration EPA has returned to its core mission, which includes protecting our pets' health. We take every incident reported seriously and review these data to see whether action is necessary. EPA encourages pet owners to read the entire label before using the pesticide product and follow all directions carefully, including monitoring your pet after application to see if side effects occur. If side effects develop, the label tells the consumer to consult the pet's veterinarian immediately." There is no established link between death and exposure to the active ingredients contained in Soresto. It is critically important to understand that a report is not an indication of cause. The numbers referenced in the original article represent the number of reports received and do not reflect causality. So, if a dog were to be wearing a collar and experience any sort of adverse event, the collar would be mentioned in the report. Drawing a causal link from individual incident reports is misleading. Since its initial approval in 2012, more than 25 million Soresto collars have protected dogs and cats in the U.S. from fleas and ticks. “While the article itself doesn't have great statistical information, I do feel that maybe the safety studies should be looked at or perhaps some new safety studies should be done," says Elizabeth Trepp, DVM in an email. Sources: yahoo.com, Daily Paws, People SAR DOG NEWS March 2021 Page 6 After You Buy the Dog Food After you purchase your dog food, it is important to remember that, like a loaf of bread, just because it comes in a bag and has an expiration date a year or so away, does not mean it lasts on your home shelf for that long. The expiration is how long the food is good for BEFORE it is opened, while it is still in an oxygen barrier bag. As soon as you open the bag, the food is exposed to oxygen and begins to degrade. Natural foods do not contain heavy, toxic chemical preservatives and must be treated how you would treat your own natural foods. DO: • Feed the food within 30-45 days of opening the bag. • Throw away what you do not use by that time. • KEEP THE BAG (which includes the barcode, expiration date and batch code). • Store the food in an airtight container (preferably still in the original bag inside the airtight container). • Store the food in a cool and dry place. • Rinse the container between EVERY use (oils that have perforated your container eventually go rancid and contaminate new food). • If the bag of food you purchase does not fit in your container, then line the food bin with an airtight bag. Pour in what WILL fit and keep the rest either in its original bag, tightly sealed in a cool, dry place until it will fit in the bin. OR (better yet) put the remainder of the food in zip lock bags in your freezer; remove them as needed (making sure to cut the barcode, batch code and expiration date off the original bag and tape it onto a storage bag). OR purchase smaller bags (you may spend more per pound but you spend less at the vet because the health effects of eating rancid food are not good). DO NOT: • Do not leave the bag open and exposed to air after opening it. • Do not store the food in the sunlight. • Do not let the food get wet and if it does get wet, throw it away. • Do not keep the food past expiration even if you do not open it. • Do not throw the bag away. Even if you store the food in an airtight container, you MUST keep the batch code.