Join us as we introduce our newest Certified Search and Rescue K9-SCOTTY #SFFDK9SCOTTY and his handler, FF/Felicia Lee

Scotty (formerly Buddy) was found as a stray and taken to Clackamas County Dog Services in Clackamas, Oregon. There, shelter staff noticed his friendly nature, high energy, and ball obsession and reached out to @searchdogfdn. Buddy was evaluated and determined to be a good fit to start training in the SDF search program!

At their National Training Center, Buddy quickly distinguished himself as an intense boy with a great attitude.

Buddy loves to bark, so he thoroughly enjoyed his alert training, which allowed him to bark at a hidden person and tug on a toy as a reward. This intelligent boy did great on his barrel field searches and quickly moved to searching rubble. He's a fun dog to train since he learns quickly and loves to engage with his trainer.

Buddy mastered all his training elements and graduated from the SDF search program in August. He is paired with Firefighter Felicia Lee of California Task Force 3, San Francisco Fire in September 2023.

He was named Scotty in loving memory of Scott Mauck.

Felicia Lee's older brother was volunteering as a firefighter when he suggested she try it, and she loved it. She subsequently volunteered as a firefighter in Tuolumne County before being hired as a firefighter in San Francisco.

She always loved the idea of having a search and rescue canine and began entertaining the thought of being a handler in 2018 when she started volunteering at trainings with the San Francisco Fire Department and California Task Force 3 teams.

She began volunteering without a dog as a "victim," going to seminars and taking classes to learn how to become a handler. After hearing about SDF from other handlers in her department, she applied to SDF's Handler Training Program.

Felicia is excited about how she and Scotty bond more every day and looks forward to continuing her training with him to become more successful as a team.

The team is assigned to Station 4 in China Basin.