Youth Haven is impacting families facing tragic circumstances in a unique way. We have been privileged to open some areas of our Michigan campus to several search and rescue teams to test their search dogs before going out into the field.
Certified tester Kim Veldheer and her husband Craig, along with their search dogs, were part of search and rescue efforts after the Maui fire and the recent hurricanes. The team started in Florida with Helene's landfall near Tampa, then they were sent up into North Carolina to assist with the aftermath of the flooding. From there, they went back to Florida for preparation and response to Hurricane Milton. Kim and Craig have successfully tested several dogs on Youth Haven's property to make sure they are ready for this type of emergency response.
Other dogs who were tested on our property have been busy with search and rescue missions across the state of Michigan. The dogs search in all kinds of conditions, so they need to test under a variety of circumstances in order to be prepared for real-life scenarios.
K9 Handler Julie explained, "A little over a year ago, Ruka and I had a search that required us to spend 2 nights in a tent because of the location. It was cold and rainy." She emphasized that the dogs and their handlers search in all types of weather and referenced the photo you see here: "Ruka’s expression says it all, as it was pouring rain and high winds outside the tent."
Handler Mara has shared similar experiences with her rescue dog, Tess. "One search we assisted with was a multi- agency search near Grand Rapids," Mara stated. "It was pretty hot and humid and we worked in a wooded and swampy sector with other K9s nearby. It was a great example of the need to train and test under a variety of circumstances to be ready for what a real world search environment will be like!"
Kathryn and her rescue dog Ffion (pictured above, in front of Youth Haven's entrance sign) have been part of two searches over the past few months. In both searches, they covered large areas, looking for missing persons. Kathryn described the challenging search conditions: "In one, Ffion worked for two days, 7 or 8 hours each, in woods and some swampy area—one day it rained. The other search, Ffion worked for 8 hours in extremely dense brush, swamps, and marshes."
Kim, Craig, and all the handlers who have been able to test their dogs on Youth Haven's property are incredibly grateful for the community support that makes it possible for them to conduct successful search and rescue missions.
"There's a common phrase among the members of a SAR Team," Kim said: "'It takes a village to train a search dog.' From the mentors and hiders to the evaluators and property/building owners and all the volunteer helpers in between - we couldn't do this without you!"
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