Sally asked Robert D. Calkins:

What made you choose to do this line of work? How much training did you have to get? Thank you! :)

Robert D. Calkins Hi Sally-

Thanks for your question. In my state, search and rescue is overwhelmingly a volunteer activity. So it's technically not a "line of work." About the only person getting paid at a search is the sheriff's deputy who supervises our effort.

The training commitment is huge. Our team puts on training every Saturday and usually one weeknight. I rack up about 300 to 350 total hours per year. We have to learn everything that a regular "ground-pounder" SAR member knows, and then learn to work our dog on top of that. For a newbie to be "mission-ready" with their first dog can take a couple of years.

Thanks again for your question and I'm glad you enjoyed Digger.!

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