FACTS Canine HRD Seminar

This workshop is held by the The Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State (FACTS) in cooperation with the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) and FIRST K9.

Instructors for this seminar were nationally recognized trainers and handlers. Instructors: Ann Christensen and/or Bill Dotson, Ben Alexander, Tiffanie Turner, Melissa Ellis, and Jennifer Blanton from TEXSAR (texsar.org). Volunteer members provide assistance and escort of K9 teams during training within the facility.

Participants are provided opportunities to expose their dogs to full body decomposition at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility located on Freeman Ranch. Dogs are exposed to both buried and surface remains. Classroom instruction included human versus non-human bone identification and training tips. Set ups include exposure to a single body in a 2-5 acre area and the ability to work a search scenario for a whole body.