Last night I got asked two interesting questions.

1). What is a normal day for you?
Answer: There is no such thing. Yesterday I received five phone calls from around the USA and 16 emails from around the world all related to missing persons and or missing pet cases.

I addressed each issue. I am a bit hard of hearing so it's easier for me to respond by email than by telephone. One call was for a missing cat in Humboldt Co. N. California. Another was for a missing child swept away in a flood in San Louis Obisbo, Ca. Another was for a missing person in Denver, Colorado who only uses sign language. Yet another was for a man whose brother is missing in NE Canada and believed to have been murdered.

These are the typical everyday situations (cases) I respond to. There are some days I get no calls and only 1 or 2 emails asking for help. There are others that are very busy.

2). How do I keep families safe from scams and scammers?

Simple. Over the last 51 years volunteering and working in both SAR and law enforcement, I've heard from a lot of my clients on how folks have tried to scam money or property from them. This is why I protect myself and my clients by supplying them with written documents and contracts.

Our contracts spells out what I / we (my team members) can and cannot do for them and how much we charge for our services.
I have a background both in criminal, civil, and business law.

A lot of folks believe SAR is FREE. Folks it never is. 18 states have the ability to charge for SAR and they do.

Our Federal FEMA program pays it's SAR teams USAR Urban Search and Rescue and you the taxpayer pay their fees. National Park services pay their staff as do most of the US FS (Forest Services). Same as for the US Navy, Army, Marines, Air force and Coast Guard. Someone has to pay.

The law enforcement officer that oversees the SAR operation is being paid as is his/her support staff.

In 1997, The Oregon Dept of Justice helped me set up a professional contracting services for clients which protects me as the contractor and them (As the clients). This way they can't say "hey you never said that? Or why didn't you tell me this? It's all spelled out before we even respond. We supply the client with an after action search report which explains Who, What, When, Why, Where, and How. and is admissible in both civil and criminal court testimony.

Do we donate our services and not charge on SAR Cases?

Yes, but it depends on the case. If it's a confused older person with mental health issues I may or may not donate my services. Same with a missing child. Also if it's an older pet that is lost or missing, I may try to help for free. Depends on the case.

Over the last 51 years I've responded to over 29 disasters around the world and have donated our services on these cases.

Being an International Instructor in all aspects of SAR, K9 SAR, rope rescue, USAR, water rescue, I have lots of teams who depend on my guidance. I'm proud of the service we provide to both SAR teams, law enforcement, as well as our clients.

Respectfully

Mr. Harry E. Oakes Jr.
K9 SAR Coordinator
www.k9sardog.com