I joined Oger SARdogs through my current four-legged friend Sammie. He is a Border Collie / Golden Retriever cross-breed. At the age of 6 months, Sammie came into my life on March 8, 2016.
After we attended an area-search workshop in May 2016, I became addicted to the search work. In addition, I was working on maintrailing at the time. During these mantrailing sessions it turned out that Sammie has an enormous zest to work and enjoys finding people.
In September 2016 I came in contact with Oger SARdogs. I was very curious to find out what the search work really meant, and after the first training session I never left.
At Oger SARdogs we mainly do rubble search, area search and mantrailing. This brings us a lot of satisfaction.
It gives us a good feeling that we can help people find their missing loved ones.
My name is Lars Kruithof and I own a Malinois bitch Kyna, born in 2015.
Before I joined Oger SARdogs, I was active in the KNPV (Dutch Policedog training).
After I quit the policedog training I did not work with my dogs for a short period but after I while I wanted to work with the dog and contribute to society, and I ended up at Oger SARdogs.
Training at Oger SARdogs is a very nice combination of being able to contribute to society in the first place and at the same time being able to work with the dogs. There’s hardly a better combination.
Kyna is a very driven and enthusiastic dog. She really wants to work and to me it’s great to see with how much drive and enthusiasm she does that.
With a lot of energy and power, she wants to do as much as possible to please me.
My name is Joyce and I am together with Lars. We both are dog handlers at Oger SARdogs with our two Malinois.
I work in the healthcare sector and there I see circumstances that allow me to put myself in the position of the missing people. This along with the drive to give my dog the opportunity to work has led up to our membership of Oger SARdogs.
Before I started at Oger SARdogs, I trained at the KNPV (Dutch Association for police dog training) for a while. This turned out to be a branch of dog sport that was inappropriate for both me and my dog and that is why I quit there.
Yet my dog is not a quiet dog. She really wants to work without coercion. Her extremely social character and soft nature ensure that she is easily approachable. Her drive to work is great so she really enjoys practicing the way we do at Oger SARdogs.
Together we have found pleasure in training again and we are a good team. Oger SARdogs offers us the opportunity to contribute something extra to society.
The motivation for me to do this voluntary work together with my dog Izar ? First and foremost to offer a helping hand (and paw) to people that have been affected by anything that makes them vulnerable, in the broadest sense.
To offer support together with the Oger SARdogs team gives me a warm feeling inside.
The best thing about this work is that the Oger-dogs can do what they are made for: use their extraordinary sense of smell to search for missing persons.
Team Oger SARdogs is strongly committed to cooperation, motivation and quality in searching, which makes that our coaches and team-members remain focused. It is a privilege to me and my dog to be part of this team.
Trust and professionalism to me are the binding factors. With Izar, my male Malinois, I train rubble-search and mantrailing.
We really do this work together; we take care of each other and another’s dogs. Therefore, a responsibility rests with every team member, also (or maybe even more so) with the people that do not work with a dog themselves but are strongly committed to our foundation.
Oger SARdogs is an extension to my (dog-)family! We often hear that the atmosphere in our group is very relaxed and op
I consider that a huge compliment
Together with old German Shepherd †Aizza and my cross-breed Malinois Lucca and Aydinn, I have become deeply attached to working with dogs. The fact that I can also fulfill a need for help together with Oger SARdogs and many other people makes me feel part of a greater good.
My love for search and rescue work started about 14 years ago in Austria while doing avalanche training with my cross-breed Malinois †Coco. That’s when I got bitten by the search and rescue dog bug. I was amazed then, and still am, by the dog’s sense of smell.
I gladly share the experience I’ve gained over the years with my fellow team members, all 100% motivated people, who time and time again get so much enjoyment from searching with their dogs.
Working with your dog, a passion, my life.
To me it’s beautiful to use this passion and use the most sensitive organ of the dog to search for a missing person: its nose.
Therefore, it is truly a big dream come true for me and an honor to be part of the Oger family.
My first dog was a Dobermann. A total of 4 Dobermanns and a crossbreed Dobermann / Stafford followed. With them I have gained a lot of experience in learning to work together and train in different areas. Obedience, tracking and bitework from the IPO.
Then my German Shepherd “Eros” followed, a real challenging dog. He has taught me so much about training, behavior and dog language.
In the beginning of 2016 I “came home” after the avalanche training in Austria and I feel completely at home at Oger SARdogs. I am now training with my Beaucerons Homme and his daughter Elek. Both are trained for area search and rubble search.
At Oger SARdogs, a lot of emphasis is put at training reliabe, independently working and highly motivated dogs.
My other experiences with animals are as a veterinary surgeon, animal caretaker in animal shelter Utrecht and Amersfoort, cynological instructor and behavioral therapist and teacher of Dog and Cat behavior and health in Barneveld.
A day without Homme & Elek is a day wasted …