We charge $25.00 driving time per hour each way from Longview, Washington USA to the Search area and back.

$25.00 for standby if we're placed on standby

All travel expenses to include fuel, meals, motels, air fair if we fly.

Search time is $50.00 per fifteen minutes.

Most missing person searches last between 1 hour and 10 hours.
Depends on how long we have to travel on foot to reach the search area and conduct a search. Our last human search took us 15 MINUTES to determine where a missing hunter was and send teams in to recover his body. This after local sheriff's offices search teams had searched with helicopters, ground teams, bloodhounds and German shepherd teams for over a week. They found nothing.

Most missing pet searches last between fifteen minutes and 2 hours.
Cat searches last about 1 hour or less.
Dog searches last about 3 hours or less.
Horse searches last about 4 hours or less.
High Angle Pet rescue (dog over cliff) generally runs about 6 hours.
Hiking in with rescue ropes and gear, rappelling down to victim, securing victim, Bringing victim out.

You must send us an email to searchdog@iinet.com
with your name address city state zip code and telephone#
and complete description of the name of your pet,age weight breed(s) id?
where lost, when lost, etc.
We'll send you a contract for services agreement, you fill it out, send it back via email
and we'll then talk by telephone to confirm the search and rescue mission. If you cancel our search response while we're in route, you'll be charged for what ever travel expenses has occured.
How do we train the dogs?

First we save the dogs from the dog pound. Any dog can be trained. The smaller dogs can work confined spaces for earthquake and bombing victims.
The larger breeds are better for avalanche and wilderness work. All dogs can do all forms of SAR work.

We start with obedience. Our SAR Dogs must be able to work off lead, stop and stay on command, work right, left, back, forward, etc. Once the dog passes the off leash obedience classes, they then start training in agility.

They must learn how to climb up and down ladders, crawl through tight spaces, tunnels, and rappel out of helicopters and off High cliffs and buildings with us. They must learn to ride ski chair lifts hundreds of feet in the air, ride in boats and kayaks, to find drowning victims. On the back of snow mobiles, ride in noisy helicopters and airplanes.

We then gun train the dogs. Some of us carry firearms to protect ourselves from bad people who might try to harm us or our search dogs. Once the dog is gun trained, then we start training the dogs on finding people scent.

First we’ll take 10 bags of human hair and sit them 10 feet apart in a field.
Next, we’ll take a dog in training; give them a sample of some of the hair from one of the bags. (Example bag# 3). We’ll then assign a name to this bag so the dog can associate this scent with a particular name. Like “Marty”. This is Marty, go find Marty.

Then we’ll have the dog smell each bag slowly one at a time. When the dog identifies the bag “Marty” from where the hair sample came from, we’ll have them sit and bark and we’ll give them a big praise reward. We don’t believe in training with evil choke chains or bad shock collars or food. Just love, hugs, and kisses.

When the dog can identify a sample of hair from each bag 10 out of 10 times, then we’ll bury the hair in dirt, water, under rocks, in the forest, in a trunk of a car, to teach the dog they may have to search for a human scent in any of these places.

Once the dog has passed this training called scent discrimination, then we’ll work on tracking.

We’ll have someone go hide on purpose in the woods. In the beginning, we’ll let the dog smell them first and assign a name to the victim. This is Lars, go find Lars. Then we’ll let the dog go find the victim. We make the tracks longer and harder each time. Once the dog can track someone who has been missing for a month, for over three miles into the wilderness, then we start them on evidence searching.

Item searches. We’ll show them various items. A gun, knives, keys, wallets, watches, etc. Then we’ll hide these items and have the dog show us where it’s buried.

Once the dog passes the item identification test, then we’ll work on avalanche.
There are rock, snow, mud and debris avalanches. We’ll bury a real person alive in a snow cave on the mountain. Then have the search dog go find them and dig them out. They have to do these tests yearly to pass our standards.

Then we’ll put a diver and human scent in scent tubes underwater and have the dog sit in a boat and smell for the diver’s scent or the scent tubes which allows human scent to come out of the water. The deepest water find we know of is 250 feet in Alaska with the Sitka Search dog teams. The victim drowned and three search dogs identified by scent where his body was.

When the dog passes the water search tests, then we’ll work on debris piles. We will go to debris (Collapsed building) and hide live humans and dead human scent in the building. Then we’ll have the search dog handler with his or her search dog come in and show us where each person, live and dead is. This is for Urban Search and Rescue. USAR.

The dogs alert to three different scents.
Live alert.
The dog is happy. Their ears are up, they are barking and smiling. Their tails are wagging.

Stress Alert.
If the victim is scared or injured, we’ll get a stress alert. We watch the dog’s tail. Their tail will go half way down and the dog will bark and their ears will be in the ½ way up position.

Death Alerts.
If the search dog smells death, they become very sad and upset.
Their ears will go down, their tail will go down and the search dog will whine and become very sad. We then know the victim has died. The dog may urinate, defecate, they may eat grass to absorb the acids forming in their stomachs to calm their stomach’s down. We’ll show the dog the victim’s remains to confirm their findings if we can. Then reward them for their success.

Area searches.
Once the dog and handler pass all these tests, then we’ll hide up to 20 people in a five acre area of woods and have the dogs go find each one. We’ll also hide death scent in scent tubes in the area as well. We’ll tell the dog to clear the area. They will work into the wind. This simulates a mass casualty situation.
We work into the air called an Air scent search and the search dog will show us where each person is living or dead.

The dogs are our personal pets as well as our work partners. They stay at home with us. They are part of our families. They sleep in our beds, travel where ever we go.

My search dog Ms Valorie holds the world record. She is 12-1/2 years old and has documented over 4,300 search and rescue calls all over the world.
She’s found more missing persons and pets then any dog in the history of search and rescue.

What kind of training does the dog handler go through?
The dog handler must go through courses in map and compass, outdoor survival, dog handling, searching for evidence. First aid for people and dogs, EMT training, land navigation, edible plants, fire making, radio procedures, rope rescue, water rescue, avalanche rescue, mountain rescue, confined space rescue, fire arms training, report writing, testifying in the courtroom.

Photographing and diagramming the crime scene. Helicopter rescue. Confined space search and rescue. We cover all aspects of SAR so we train in all aspects of SAR.

The dog handler must be in physical shape to put on a 50lbs rescue back pack
And climb 3000 feet up a mountain side in bad weather to go find someone who may be lost or trapped.

What helps a search dog handler be successful?
Natural abilities and interests that help people in SAR. Their love of the outdoors, hiking, climbing, kayaking, and speaking to people.

What kind of jobs are available in SAR?
Unless you work for the National Park Service, Military, or for a Law Enforcement agency, or FEMA, there really aren’t any paying jobs in this field.

I’m one of the few private contractors in the world that hires out my professional services to other families, governments and police departments around the world. This after being a volunteer as most teams are for over 25 years.

Opportunities for advancement in SAR are very poor unless you work for a law enforcement agency. It’s what you make it. People don’t ever want to pay you for missing person searches. I’ve performed over

What are the particular advantages of being a dog handler in search and rescue?
I’m using my abilities of climbing, and tracking, along with my dog’s abilities of using her eyes, ears, and nose for air scenting, trailing, and tracking scent. Together, we’re a specialized team that’s very successful.

What are the disadvantages of working in K-9 SAR?
The pay sucks. The rewards are great. There are a lot of jealous people out there. Jealous and at times, very egotistical. They allow their egos to run search and rescue thus costing many innocent people their lives. A recent case of examples is the Kim family missing in S. Oregon and the three climbers missing in Hood River, Oregon on Mt. Hood, Ore. If the sheriff had called in search dog teams immediately, we possibly could have saved their lives. Or at least brought closure to their families and loved ones.

Classic example is the Ashley Pond, Miranda Gaddis – Oregon City- Ward Weaver murder case in 2002. See MSNBC’s story “Into Thin Air” which aired Feb. 2006. Shows our documentation of finding the bodies after the FBI and Police teams failed to find anything. This embarrassed them.

Do I have advise to anyone interested in a career in K-9 SAR?
Yes, either marry a rich person, or win the lottery. I’ve performed over 1,500 Missing Person’s cases since 1986. I’ve been paid for maybe 10 of these searches.

Since people won’t pay you to work missing persons’ cases, you have to pay for it yourself out of your own pocket.

The State, Federal government, City and County agencies won’t pay you.
The families of the missing person often won’t pay you.
So you have to take time off work, away from your family, job, and friends to go risk your life to try to save someone else’s at your own expense.

Are there current problems faced by most K-9 handlers?
Yes we’ve already mentioned ego’s and politics which become very ugly. Many times we’ve heard other dog handlers and sheriff’s bad mouthing our teams and other teams to make themselves look good. When we call them on it, they either lie and try to deny it, or state something to the effect, ”Well this is what I heard”. Basing their statements on hearsay instead of documented facts. These are grown adults. (Shame on them).

So if you don’t mind dealing with a lot of B.S. and then go face the wilderness elements of cold, wind, rain, snow, wild animals, and bad people who are trying to kill you and or your dog, then SAR work can be fun.

If you want a career in K-9 SAR all I can say to you is Good luck and cover your assets.

Respectfully

Mr. Oakes

Q. Can you track after 48 hours?
A. Yes. Successful tracking has been done by our teams for up to one year.

Q. Do you use bloodhounds?
A. No. We use specially trained and tested search and rescue dogs of several breeds, often of mixed breeds.

Q. Doesn't rain hurt your ability to find the scent?
A. We search year-round in the heavy rains here in the Pacific Northwest and in the jungles and rain forests in other countries. Rain actually helps our searching capabilities. It refreshes the scent and brings it closer to the surface so the search dog can smell it. Rain also keeps the search dogs' nasal passages moist so they can hold the scent longer.

Q. Do you charge for your services?
A. Yes. Call for details and rates. We donate an average of $145,000 in services per year.

Q. Are you the only search team that gets paid for SAR Work?
A. No. FEMA teams, National Park Teams, US Military, and Law Enforcement SAR Coordinators all are paid with your tax dollars. It's no different. As well, NASAR Management teams are paid. Numerous states are charging for their SAR Services on a case by case basis. We're providing professional trained sar dogs and sar dog handlers.

Q. If I have a question regarding a missing pet or person do you charge for this service as well?
A. Yes, as in any business, time is money and it costs money to fax, telephone, and file reports regarding missing persons or pets. So, if you need information to help you find a missing pet or person, you'll need to complete a contract for consult services.

Q. I want to join a search dog team, how do I go about finding out who to contact so that I may join?
A. Contact your local department of emergency management and look at what resources they use. Visit several search dog units and see which one feels right for your style of learning and training. Here in Oregon there are five different search dog teams. Each one trains differently. Each one has varied results because of their type of training. Though we don't support NASAR in any way because of their open discrimination practices and prejudice towards SAR teams that don't agree with their tactics, they do have a web site which lists SAR dog resources. Whether you wish to join such an organization would be your personal choice.

Q. How long have you been doing this?
A. Harry Oakes has been involved in missing person searches since 1972.
Harry has been involved in missing pet searches since 1988.

Q. How long does it take to find a missing person?
A. That depends on several factors:

• How long the subject has been missing
• Mobility of subject (that is, is the subject wandering or stationary)
• Weather
• Terrain
• Travel time to the search location

Q. How long does it take to find a lost pet?
A. Generally, it takes approximately one hour. Within one hour we can tell if the animal has been killed, injured, or picked up and where this occurred. Click on Finding Your Missing Pet for more information.

Q. What is your success rate?
A. Humans - We find 95% of the victims during the search.

Q. Do you belong to NASAR?
A. No, because they openly discriminate against search dog teams.

Q. Doesn't using search dogs for missing pets confuse the search dog and hurt your efforts to find people?
A. Absolutely NOT. This is similar to sending a search dog to find an article of clothing or a weapon used in the commission of a crime and then using the search dog to find a missing person the next day. Scent is scent to a search dog. The search dog is happy to find whatever they are asked to look for: human, animal, evidence, or cookie. Teams that refuse to train and search for pets are just to damn lazy to go do the work. Many state that it will discredit them when they want credibility in the courtroom. This isn't true. We've never had any trouble getting our credibility accepted in the courtroom. It's based on training, testing, and proven results.

Q. Should I call your office even if our family or the sheriff's office has already used search dog teams without success?
A. YES. We repeatedly enter searches privately and we repeatedly find the missing persons, often when other search dog teams have failed to find them. (Many times we have found the victim in the original search area).

Q. What makes your teams so successful when other teams aren't?
A. Training and actual missions. We've repeatedly documented finds after Bloodhound teams and other search dog teams have tried to find the missing person or pet. It's all about experience, training, testing, and success. For more information, click on Training.

Q. How can we verify your documentation and credentials?
A. It's easy, check our references. Our missions, letters of awards, and references are documented. Further references available at our office.

Q. Do you offer preventive safety programs for children and adults?
A. Yes, our International Help Us Find You Search & Rescue Safety Program (HUFY) is a copyrighted and award winning program. It is taught through presentations to schools, churches, safety fairs, and our coloring books. We've taught over 2900 programs since 1986, resulting in 16 documented saves to date of children who used what they learned in our program to stay alive until found.

Q. What kind of recognition have you received for your work?
A. To view a complete list, click on Awards. To name a few:

• the National Jefferson Award the KPTV "For Kids Sake Award"
• NASAR's Higgens and Langley National Swift Water Rescue Award
• hundreds of letters from Law Enforcement agencies
• a letter from Oregon's Governor Barbara Roberts
• a letter from President George Bush

Q. How do you deal with the grief associated with difficult cases?
A. It never gets any easier. Critical Incident Stress Debriefing and writing help some, as well as knowing that we provide closure to victims' families. To view a sample of this type of writing, click on letter.

Q. Have you written any books on Search & Rescue?
A. Yes, three books, along with lots of handout information on various survival and search & rescue topics.

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