After 25 years as search dog handlers, 22 of them as members of Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group, Perfesser Chaos and I, and several of our most competent and reliable teammates, terminated our affiliation with that organization in April 2015. This was not an action we undertook lightly, and although the decision was ours alone, we took the action we believe was necessary to protect ourselves and the safety of our dogs.
Although we spent 22 years building AMRG's reputation as the go-to canine resource in the region, known for rigor, self-skepticism, peer-reviewed research, and exacting standards of performance, we can no longer endorse that unit, its standards, its conduct, or its canine response capabilities, nor can we recommend that you donate money to it or become a member.
Former AMRG members have been warmly welcomed by Mountaineer Area Rescue Group, the Appalachian Search and Rescue Conference unit based in Morgantown, WV, which we helped to found and sponsored for ASRC membership many years ago. We are now members of MARG, part of their ground SAR training program, and deploy under their aegis. We are still available for deployments in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia, and have several teammates located in southwest Pennsylvania.
Responsible agency representatives who require us for a lost person search can activate MARG by calling Preston County OEM at 304-329-1026. Private individuals may not request SAR response; you may ask the law enforcement representative to request MARG via that number.
We are not currently accepting trainee dog handlers, instead concentrating on training and working our own dogs and meeting our responsibilities as team members of MARG. We may make some limited weekend seminar instruction available in the future.
You can support MARG here.
