K9 Team – Search & Detection Experts

The Wallowa County SAR K9 Team provides search and rescue dogs and handlers to locate missing people. Our team has OSSA and Nationally certified dogs for area search, trailing, and human remains detection, and young dogs in training.  The K9 Team is deployed through the Wallowa County Sheriff's Office and participates in mutual aid and training with other counties. 

Trailing dogs can provide direction-of-travel of a missing subject to help focus search efforts, or the trailing team could follow the trail directly to the subject.  Area dogs can quickly search large areas, using the wind to zero in on human subjects, including those who may not respond to searchers - like children, dementia, mentally ill, nonresponsive, and deceased subjects.  Human Remains Detection dogs locate deceased subjects, providing closure for family and friends.