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AKC Companion Animal Recovery Donates $10,000 to NorthEast Mobile Search and Rescue Team

-- SAR Dogs and Handlers at Mohawk Valley KC Show for Donation Presentation --

Ballston Spa, NY – AKC Companion Animal Recovery (AKC CAR) recently awarded a $10,000 Search and Rescue grant from its Canine Support and Relief Fund to the NorthEast Mobile Search and Rescue (NEMSAR) team from Clifton Park, New York.

This AKC CAR grant will assist the NEMSAR team to purchase equipment and fund canine and handler training and certification testing. The grant will fund four GPS devices to assist in digital mapping of areas searched and three repelling harnesses that will be used to reach remote areas to be searched in the Adirondack Mountains.

“NEMSAR works in an area with very diverse terrain. Competent, well-trained K-9 teams are a key element of lost and missing person searches,“ said Tom Sharp, CEO of AKC Companion Animal Recovery. “This grant will not only benefit NEMSAR but enable this SAR team in turn to assist others and provide the highest quality searches in the area they serve.”

NEMSAR provides search and rescue services to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers and law enforcement agencies, as well as assists in searches for lost and missing persons in a variety of settings, which include wilderness terrain as well as urban and rural areas. Primarily serving the New York State Capital District, upon request NEMSAR has also responded in the Adirondack Mountains and New England states. The team includes four search and rescue dogs that are currently working toward New York state and national certifications. NEMSAR is also involved in community outreach programs.

“This AKC CAR grant will allow us to defray some of the costs of training and allow us to purchase much needed equipment for the dogs,” said NEMSAR President Fred L. Halley, Jr. “We have a few dogs in training and this grant will make it possible to complete their training, become certified, and do what they do best - find lost people.”

About the AKC CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund

The AKC CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund was established as a permanent charitable fund with the goals of providing resources, support, funds, and other assistance to not-for-profit canine search and rescue organizations and K-9 units; not-for-profit veterinary units providing support to the canine rescue teams; and not-for-profit animal shelters and similar not-for-profit organizations providing care for companion animals displaced as a result of natural or civil disasters.

For more information on the AKC CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund, visit www.akccar.org or call 1-800-252-7894.