Who We Are at San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Sea

  We are a nonprofit group under the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, Volunteer Forces. We are a Search and Recovery team comprised of search dogs that are privately owned and trained by their handlers for the express purpose of locating missing and deceased people as well as recovering evidence. 

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Search Dog Team is one of 19 Search and Rescue Teams within the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Volunteer Forces Unit. Established in 1991, the Search Dog Team provides a valuable resource to the county as an aid in the search for, and location of lost persons, victims of natural or man-made disasters, and evidence detection. We deploy with our personally-owned canines trained in Human Remains Detection and live-find Disaster (USAR, under the jurisdiction of FEMA). As is the case with all the Search and Rescue Units throughout the county, we assist the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department by providing search and rescue/search and recovery services for those in need. The Search Dog Team is comprised of volunteers who are on call 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week. We are called on to deploy on local searches within the county of San Bernardino, and can be, and have been called upon to assist, as a mutual aid resource, other agencies in the state, and out-of-state if requested on major disasters. Our team is made up of dedicated volunteers and staff who are passionate about making a difference.

The mission of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Search Dog Team is to assist the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in meeting its law enforcement and public safety objectives during the department's normal course of operation and in times of disasters and emergencies. In doing so, this team will encourage a close personal relationship and spirit of mutual cooperation between its members and the regularly employed members of the sheriff’s department. This team will strive for the complete professionalism of its members through continual training and updating of its skills and techniques.

The purpose of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Search Dog Team is:

- to locate subjects buried, concealed, lost, or deceased due to  technical or natural disasters, or human error

- to assist in locating evidence during the course of a search

-to exhibit the highest level of cooperation and professionalism

- to provide educational/informational opportunities and programs for the public regarding the training and deployment of search and recovery dogs and associated activities

- to work in cooperation with other agencies

- to work within the scope of the team’s abilities and to perform its functions in a safe and reasonable manner