Australian Search and Rescue K9

25/08/2026

💙🧡

25/08/2026

🧡💙

This International Dog Day, we’re shining a light on our work with the Australian Search and Rescue K9 Unit (ASAR-K9).

ASAR-K9 are a team of committed volunteers dedicated to training dog teams to respond to emergencies and find missing people in bush or country areas.

They work together with Victoria Police, VICSES and VicEmergency to play a vital role in search and rescue activities.

Today, we thank the four-legged heroes (and their volunteer partners) who are happy to lend a paw when we need them most. 🐾

Photo: SES Monash Unit

21/08/2026

ASAR’s latest training session took us to beautiful Kinglake West, where the team put an important operational skill into practice: adapting to the unexpected.

Following the recent weather, access to some of the roads we needed to use was restricted, requiring teams to reassess their plans, re-map areas and identify alternative access points.

Unexpected challenges are a reality of search and rescue. Conditions can change quickly, roads or tracks may become inaccessible, and the original plan may no longer be workable. Being able to safely adapt, overcome these challenges and continue training and or deploying is an essential skill for both our handlers and dogs.

Our teams also worked through a range of search scenarios, including area searches, pathway searches and article finds often in challenging terrain.

Training for the unexpected ensures our teams are better prepared to respond when it matters most.

10/08/2026

ASAR-K9 at Lake Eppalock Multi-Agency Exercise

Over the weekend, ASAR-K9 had the opportunity to participate in a large multi-agency emergency services exercise at Lake Eppalock, alongside Victoria State Emergency Service, Victoria Police, CFA (Country Fire Authority), Ambulance Victoria, Marine Search and Rescue, Fire Rescue Victoria and Life Saving Victoria.

In weather that truly delivered all four seasons, Talia and K9 Sol, Andy and K9 George, with Ang and Alicia supporting, participated in two challenging land search scenarios involving multiple casualties and item searches.

We’re incredibly proud that all teams successfully located their targets within their designated search areas and were also on hand to assist our partner agencies with casualty evacuation.

A massive thank you to everyone involved in putting together such a well-run, realistic and productive exercise. Opportunities like this are invaluable for building relationships, testing our capabilities and strengthening interoperability between emergency service agencies.

A special thank you to Justin Navas for the invitation and for his ongoing support of ASAR-K9. We truly appreciate the opportunity to be involved.

08/08/2026

Huge congratulations to Jaxx and K9 Reign for passing their Preliminary Skills Assessment 2 today! These assessments are to ensure our teams are on track for future operational assessments.

Demonstrating a clear bark alert (including barking for 4.5 minutes!), Jaxx and K9 Reign successfully:
- Located an unknown number of missing people within a 30 acre area in under 40 minutes
- Located an unknown number of missing persons along a 1km path search in under 20 minutes
- Identified two articles in a 30 x 30m area.

Congratulations Team! We look forward to seeing you succeed through to the next step of Preliminary Skills Assessment 3 and then on to Operational Assessment!

21/07/2026

Working and training alongside our emergency services colleagues at VICSES provides a valuable opportunity to practise vital land search skills while developing a greater understanding of how our organisations can integrate seamlessly during a missing person emergency.

Last Thursday, our team welcomed the opportunity to train our search dogs in a new environment at Windy Hill alongside the SES Essendon Unit. Training in unfamiliar locations helps ensure our teams are prepared to respond effectively, no matter where they are called upon to assist.

K9 George and Andy, K9 Kosmo and Brian, K9 Renn and Kate, and K9 Archie and Kai, along with Kerry, all did a fantastic job staying focused and working through a range of challenging scent problems.

Last night, we continued our joint training with the SES Malvern Unit, conducting a simulated search exercise involving two missing persons across a 60-acre area. K9 Sprite and Ang, supported by K9 Phoenix and Alex, with Andy assisting, successfully located both missing persons. The SES crew then moved in to provide first aid and assist with evacuation.

Exercises like these are invaluable in building strong working relationships, improving interoperability and developing a clear understanding of each organisation’s skills, capabilities and role during a real-world emergency.

We thank our Victoria State Emergency Service colleagues for their continued collaboration and commitment to working together to improve outcomes for missing people in our community.

15/07/2026

Search and rescue isn’t just about the dog’s fitness - it’s about the handler’s too.

At our recent training in Childers, our teams tackled some incredibly challenging terrain designed to prepare both ends of the lead for real-world deployments. Handlers navigated steep, slippery hills, deep mud, fallen trees, large water crossings and even mud slides that were safest to descend by sliding down!

Training in environments like this builds far more than fitness. It develops confidence, improves decision-making, strengthens teamwork and teaches both handlers and dogs how to safely negotiate the unpredictable terrain they may encounter during a search.

04/07/2026

We’re excited to introduce our newest recruit, Archie, alongside his handler, Kai.

We look forward to training, growing, and supporting this team as they develop their skills and progress toward becoming an operational search and rescue team.

Please join us in welcoming Kai & Archie — we’re thrilled to have them onboard and look forward to watching this talented team grow and succeed!

02/07/2026

On the weekend, ASAR-K9 members undertook our official Level 3 Hike fitness test, over-sighted by assessors from SES Nillumbik Unit.

In line with the requirements brought in by Victoria State Emergency Service, successful annual completion of this test is now a mandatory pre-requisite for our members to be operational.

The test involves completing a 6km circuit in under 75 minutes with a 15 kilo pack, along with various obstacles on most laps.
This ensures that our deployable members are fit for duty and able to respond safely to call out requests.

We wish to extend our sincere thanks to VICSES Nillumbik for their support and time in making sure our assessments met all requirements.

24/06/2026

As tax time rolls around, we urgently need your help.

Australian Search and Rescue K9 is a 100% volunteer, not-for-profit organisation, on call 24/7 at Victoria Police’s request — but we can’t do this without your support. Every rescue, every search, costs thousands — from training our K9 teams, to equipment, veterinary care, and operational expenses.

We rely entirely on donations from people like you. Right now, we need your help more than ever to keep our teams operational and ready to find any missing persons.

Please, this tax time, consider donating. Your contribution could be the reason someone is found alive. Every dollar makes a difference — and right now, we need it more than ever to continue saving lives.

Help us keep searching. Help us keep saving by clicking the link below. Every single dollar counts and every single donation is tax-deductible

Search and Rescue K9 organisation deployed to assist in missing persons searches by Victorian Police.