Meet Our Handlers and Field Support

Jeaneene Crowell- K9 Sasha/K9 Winnie

Jeaneene, as founder and president of our organization, has actively been working in Search & Rescue for 15 years.  Her K9 partners, Sasha and Winnie Sue, are certified in Wilderness Human Remains Detection and Wilderness Trailing. 

Jeaneene's Certifications:

  • K9 handler for Pleasant Township Fire Department since 2019
  • 2024 to Present- Evaluator for American Working Dog Association
  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • CPR/First Aid
  • K9 First Aid
  • Hazmat Awareness
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • Sasha/Winnie Sue- Canine Good Citizen

 

Marsha Smith- K9 Zeena

Marsha and Zeena have been operating as a Search & Rescue team for 7 years.  During those 7 years they have maintained their certifications in Wilderness Trailing and Wilderness Human Remains Detection making them invaluable to the search and rescue world.  

Marsha's Certifications:

  • Volunteer Firefighter
  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • First Aid/CPR
  • K9 First Aid
  • Hazardous Materials Awareness
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • Zeena- Canine Good Citizen

Eric Hickman- K9 Nymeria (Nya)

Eric and Nya have been working as a team in Search & Rescue for the past 6 years with certifications in Wilderness Trailing. 

Eric's Certifications:

  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • IS-703.b- National Incident Management System Resource Management
  • IS-29.a- Public Information Officer Awareness
  • IS-242 Effective Communication
  • IS-800 National Response Framework
  • First Aid/CPR
  • K9 First Aid
  • Hazmat Awareness
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • Former EMT-I
  • Former FF 1C
  • Nymeria- Canine Good Citizen

Sabrina Hickman- K9 Brennan

Sabrina and Brennan have been working in Search & Rescue for 5 years with certifications in Wilderness Human Remains Detections and Wilderness Trailing.

Sabrina's Certifications:

  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • CPR/First Aid
  • K9 First Aid
  • Hazardous Materials Awareness
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Brennan- Canine Good Citizen

Amy Jennings- K9 Flirt

Amy and Flirt have been certified in Wilderness Trailing for the past 4 months.  Amy is a veteran in the search and rescue world with 7 years working in SAR.  

Amy's Certifications:

  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • First Aid/CPR
  • K9 First Aid
  • Hazardous Materials Awareness
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • Flirt- Canine Good Citizen

Janet Bennett- K9 Douglas

Janet's Certifications:

  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • First Aid/CPR
  • K9 First Aid
  • Hazardous Materials Awareness
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • Douglas- Canine Good Citizen

Amy Raike- K9 Fiona/K9 Izzy

Amy and Fiona have been certified in Wilderness Non-Scent Discriminate Area Search (Air Scent) for 1 year and Wilderness Trailing for 4 months. 

Amy and Izzy have been certified in Wilderness Human Remains Detection for 1 year.

Amy has been working in Search & Rescue since 2020 and has certified 3 K9 partners.

Amy's Certifications:

  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • IS-703b- National Incident Management System Resource Management
  • IS-240c- Leadership and Influence
  • IS-29a- Public Information Officer Awareness
  • Additional IS courses including IS-363, IS- 520, IS- 800, IS-315c and IS 10a.
  • Paramedic certification
  • Firefighter 1 certification
  • Fire and Emergency Services Instructor 2 certification
  • CPR/ACLS/PALS Instructor
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Basic Life Support
  • Tactical Emergency Critical Care- Canine
  • Hazardous Materials Awareness
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • SARTECH 2
  • ACLS/PALS
  • Fiona/Izzy- Canine Good Citizen

Pam Lamica- K9 Comet

Pam and Comet have been working in Search & Rescue for a little over a year with certifications in Wilderness Trailing.

Pam's Certifications:

  • Attorney
  • Mediator
  • Notary
  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • First Aid/CPR
  • K9 First Aid
  • Hazardous Materials Awareness
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • Comet- Canine Good Citizen

Shelli Bowles- K9 Bentley

Shelli and Bentley have been operating as Search & Rescue handler and K9 partner for the past 2.5 years with certifications in Wilderness Trailing and  Wilderness Human Remains Detection.  

Shelli's Certifications:

  • Volunteer for 4H children in the junior deputy program
  • Volunteer for youth church camps through K9 demonstrations
  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • First Aid/CPR
  • K9 First Aid
  • Hazardous Materials Awareness
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • Bentley- Canine Good Citizen

Lauren Cruse- K9 Khaleesi

Lauren and Khaleesi have been working and training in Search & Rescue for 3 years.  This amazing team holds certifications in Wilderness Trailing, Wilderness Area Search (Scent Discriminate and Non-scent Discriminate) and Wilderness Human Remains Detection.  

Lauren's Certifications:

  • Registered Veterinary Technician
  • Foster for cats and dogs
  • Pet photographer
  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • First Aid/CPR
  • K9 First Aid
  • Hazardous Materials Awareness
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • Khaleesi- Canine Good Citizen

Tamra Mathie- K9 Gideon

Tamra and Gideon have been working and training in Search & Rescue for 3.5 years.  Tamra and Gideon are certified through American Working Dog Association in Wilderness Trailing and Wilderness Area Search (Non-Scent Discriminate Air Scent).

Tamra's Certifications:

  • Registered Veterinary Technician
  • Foster for non-profit rescue
  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • First Aid/CPR
  • K9 First Aid
  • Hazardous Materials Awareness
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • Gideon- Canine Good Citizen

Nykia Bontrager- K9 Nymeria (Nya)

Nykia's Certifications:

  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • First Aid/CPR
  • K9 First Aid
  • Hazardous Materials Awareness
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Crime Scene Preservation
  • Nya- Canine Good Citizen

K9s in Training

Michelle Robinson- K9 Soma

Michelle and Soma have been training for one year in Wilderness Human Remains Detection and Wilderness Trailing.  They hope to certify in May 2026.

Lyn Howard- K9 Maddie Rose

Lyn and Maddie Rose have been training for several month in Human Remains Detection. 

Lyn is a U.S. Army Military Police Veteran with a lifelong commitment to service, safety, and community readiness. She is the retired owner and head trainer of Best Trained Dogs LLC, where she specialized in professional canine training grounded in discipline, reliability, and trust. Lyn is also an active member of the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team, supporting communities before, during, and after emergencies.

Lyn's certifications include: 

  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • Adult & Child CPR/AED/First Aid
  • K9 First Aid
  • Sheltering, Reunification, and Mass Care Feeding
  • Specialty Vehicle Operations, including ERV and MERV 

They hope to certify in May 2026.  

Paige Williams- K9 James Benz

Paige and James Benz have been training for 6 months in Wilderness Human Remains Detection and Wilderness Trailing.  They hope to certify in May 2026.  

Field Support

Troy Hayes- Field Support

Troy's Certifications:

  • Advanced EMT
  • Firefighter 2
  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • Basic Life Support

Bryan Smith- Field Support

Bryan's Certifications:

  • Former EMT
  • Former Firefighter 1
  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System

Jennifer Wilkinson- Field Support

Jennifer's Certifications:

  • Paramedic 
  • Firefighter 2 
  • Fire Inspector
  • ICS-100- Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS-200- Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • ICS-700- An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • Basic Life Support
  • Advanced Cardiac Life Support
  • Pediatric Advanced Life Support

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