The National Search Dog Alliance is a community of K-9 handlers committed to sharing ideas, training, and experiences. NSDA is proud to host periodic seminars and workshops with the intent of bringing in new ideas and training opportunities. The goals are to offer canine handlers from across the country an opportunity to train under experts in the field, develop their skills as searchers, and better the K-9 team who in turn make a positive difference in service to their communities. Whether you are building a foundation for your wilderness dog, preparing for certification, or focusing on advancing your skills for deployment, we welcome ina you to join us!
January 24th — January 26th, 2025: Hodges, South Carolina. Multi-discipline feld seminar offering instruction in Area/Airscent, Human Remains Detection and Trailing.
Click here to read about our instructors!
Zephrin Allen has spent a decade involved in K-9 SAR as a member of MARK-9 Search and Rescue based in Dallas, TX. Zephrin currently serves as the Team Leader and Head Canine Trainer for MARK-9 and deploys a H.R.D. dog (German Shepherd) and an Area Search dog (Labrador Retriever).
In the last decade, he has deployed on 200 searches both domestically and internationally. Zephrin has certified dogs through American Working Dog Association (AWDA) and National Search Dog Alliance (NSDA), where he also serves as a board member and Principal Evaluator for HRD and Area Search.
Additionally, Zephrin is the founder and host of "Hunt-Find-Alert K-9 SAR" podcast, an Assistant H.R.D. instructor at the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State (FACTS) and a graduate of the Dick Stall online Detection/SAR courses.
Zephrin believes that the best instruction is helping the handler evaluate and critically think about their K-9s behaviour, and understanding the "Why" behind any challenges they are facing. His goal is for handlers to feel empowered to troubleshoot their K-9s behaviors and equipped to make informed decisions on how to adjust their training plan based on the needs of their dog.
Gail Collins has been serving in K-9 Search and Rescue since 2005, and has trained, deployed, and certified dogs in multiple disciplines with civilian SAR organizations (OSSA, NSDA, IPWDA). She has served as a K-9 Unit Lead, K-9 training and testing coordinator, and incident commander, and currently holds elected Board positions with search and rescue organizations both locally and nationally.
Gail is a SAR K-9 Principal Evaluator (OSSA, NSDA), and has multiple certifications in search management. She has been an instructor since 2014, with a special affinity for real-world problem solving and mentoring K-9 teams. Gail continues to be deployed on missions and investigations across the West, and has had numerous live finds and recoveries with her canine partners.
She has also spent her life in the outdoors and worked as a Wildlife Biologist for over 20 years, specializing in large carnivore research in some of the most remote wilderness of the US. Gail currently is deploying her fourth K-9 partner in Human Remains Detection.
Diana Bunch retired from a distinguished military career in the US Air Force, achieving the rank of Chief Master Sergeant (E-9). Her journey in search and rescue began in 1998, inspired by her service in the military. Diana now serves as the President of Legacy K9 Search Team and has played pivotal roles including Operations Chief, Strike Team Leader, K9 Trainer, and K9 Handler with the KlaasKIDS Regional Search Team.
Her previous SAR engagements include memberships with Colorado K9 Search and Rescue and Montgomery Search and Rescue. Throughout her career, Diana has been deployed over 200 times to assist local, state and federal agencies.
She has received numerous accolades for her search and rescue efforts, including the 2022 Civilian Service Medal from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office and being named Volunteer of the Year by the KlaasKIDS Foundation in both 2020 and 2019.
Diana holds a Level II Search Technician certification from the National Association for Search and Rescue. She has trained numerous canines throughout her SAR career in area search, trailing, and human remains detection, and she currently maintains two certified K9s in Human Remains Detection.
Joni Owen has a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Tarleton State University and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Leadership and management from Sam Houston State University. Joni is currently working as a Texas Game Warden K9 handler.
Her first K9 partner K9 Bosch was certified in Human remains detection through Utah POST and NAPWDA. She and her K9 partner assisted many local, state, and federal agencies with calls for service. Joni is on her second K9 partner, K9 Cam. She maintains national certification with K9 Cam in human remains/cadaver detection.
She has been instructing at the Forensic Anthropology Center is San Marcos Texas, as well as traveling around the US to multiple locations with her company, K9 Squared, LLC, to instruct various Search and Rescue Teams.
Joni is also currently in the process of getting hours for Trainer status through NAPWDA. Due to Joni’s law enforcement background, she brings that perspective to the table when training K9s for human remains detection.
Joni takes time to train the dog/handler team individually and has skill in adjusting scenarios to meet each team’s needs. Joni loves instructing and wants the human remains detection K9 handler community to continually get better as a whole.
Neil Day is the owner and lead instructor for All Day Dog Adventures based in Montana. He is also an operational member of a SAR unit and K9 team in Flathead Valley, Montana. Neil served with the British Army and was a Police Officer with the Metropolitan Police service in London for fifteen years.
Neil has been involved in K9 Search and Rescue since 2009 and since that time has trained and certified three dogs in multiple disciplines. He continues to be operational and deployed on missions across Montana. Neil and his canines have had multiple finds in both live find and human remains detection.
He has been an evaluator for various organizations and is currently an NSDA Principal Evaluator in multiple disciplines. He also has training and leadership roles in various SAR organizations. Neil has been leading and instructing multiple seminars in multiple disciplines throughout the United States since 2018.
Mark Holmes with a thirty-nine year career in Law Enforcement, has been a Detective in the Criminal Investigations Division for the last 27 years and is assigned to Homicide/Cold Case Homicide of the Jefferson County, TX Sheriff's Office. Mark also holds the Master Peace Officer Certification from the State of Texas. He became a Law Enforcement K-9 handler in 1994.
As a K-9 handler, he has been called upon to assist the F.B.I., U.S. Marshall's Office, U.S. State Department, The U.S. Department of the Interior - National Park Service, the United States Consulates Office, the Mexican Consulates Office, National Aeronautic Space Administration (NASA - Space Shuttle Disaster), and Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Office of the Inspector General.
Detective Holmes has also worked numerous canine related mantrailing cases throughout Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida including federal and state prison escapes.
As a K-9 Handler, Mark is recognized as an Expert Witness in both Texas and Louisiana Judicial Court Systems. He is a nationally recognized canine mantrailing instructor and Founded and is the President of both Texas Bloodhound Search and Rescue and the United States Mantrailing Association. Mark has taught well over 100 canine mantrailing seminars/ courses throughout the United States and has authored/co-authored numerous training articles relating to canine mantrailing and scent specific canine training.
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