About CT Canine Search and Rescue

Connecticut Canine Search and Rescue (CCSAR) was incorporated in 1994 as a volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a professional team response to all emergency service agency requests for lost, missing or drowned persons; advancing education in search and rescue; and offering support for families of lost and missing persons.  Our unit consists of dog teams and support personnel.  We train and certify to standards similar to those of many search and rescue units throughout the United States.

CCSAR is a member of the National Association for Search and Rescue.

CCSAR receives no public funding and does not charge for its services.

Alice Kugelman,
Co-founder of Connecticut Canine Search and Rescue

Joanne Pigott,
Co-founder of Connecticut Canine Search and Rescue

Our mission is…

“To be the lead volunteer canine search and rescue team in Connecticut as determined by emergency service agencies and the community, and to foster a climate of excellence and professionalism in search and rescue.”

The goal of CCSAR is to provide highly trained air-scent and specialty search dog teams to support Connecticut police and fire departments in a variety of search operations. Our teams assist with lost person searches in wilderness and rural areas, locating missing at-risk individuals in urban and suburban settings, finding deceased persons, identifying drowning victims, and helping in cases of fire or natural disasters. We also support law enforcement with missing person investigations and criminal cold cases. While CCSAR complements and expands local K9 resources, our training is specifically focused on searching for humans—we do not chase criminal suspects, search for drugs or explosives, or look for lost pets. When needed, we also collaborate with other search and rescue groups and law enforcement agencies throughout New England.

CCSAR is made up entirely of volunteers from all four corners of Connecticut, who dedicate hundreds of hours each year training their personal dogs to the professional level needed for effective search missions. Our volunteers are available 24/7 for missions and come from diverse backgrounds, with some having more than twenty years of experience in search and rescue.

CCSAR is prepared to deploy canine teams for wilderness land searches, human remain detection, and water searches.

The Meaning Behind the Shoulder Patch

  • The Latin motto can be translated to mean: “The Faithful Dog Refinds”.
  • The dog prints across the state represents our statewide response.
  • The tree, grass, and rocks represent land searching.
  • The water represents water searching.
  • Red and black are our official colors.
  • The patch’s black background and blue trim of the banner represent our ability to search night and day.

CCSAR has deployed to the following states in the continental USA.