MESARD (Maine Search And Rescue Dogs)

08/23/2026

Shout out to Miss Tilly for passing her annual Trailing certification. Teams are required to maintain an annual average of 16 training hrs a month, attend a minimum of 9 monthly trainings and participate in 10% of searches MESARD is called to. We don't compromise our standards and missing people deserve nothing less.

08/22/2026

08/22/2026

Neighboring New Hampshire sometimes bills people for the cost.

08/11/2026

With a week of high heat and high humidity. We took to training at night. Air temperature 70 but the humidity was 98%. Tracking is a challenge discipline in perfect conditions but for a dog, heat and humidity are kryptonite. We added a complex element to the problem but shorten the duration. Miss Tilly had to navigate lots of contamination to solve her problem.

08/10/2026

MESARD Seminar with IPWDA testing is now open to registrations! MESARD now has an online store, so participants can order their own t-shirts. Order soon, so you will have yours at the seminar. The link is in the seminar details.

Training Seminar Details MESARD seminar with IPWDA testing: If you would like to order a T-Shirt from our new MESARD online store, please click this link: https://mesard-store.itemorder.com/shop/home/ Maine Search and Rescue Dogs Is Hosting a Training Seminar (With IPWDA Testing Offered) There’s s...

07/26/2026

Water training on the Androscoggin. Thank you Topsham Fire & Rescue for the joint training. We worked from the Pejepscot Boat ramp. Up river for negative bouys and down river towards the dam for the search area. Kenny, Jaydn and Ever working with a new crew and boat. A+ day!

07/17/2026

An annual presentation for MESARD. The Animal Rescue League of Greater Portland's, "Unleashed Summer camps". Who had the most fun? Beck, Miss Tilly, Kenny G, Kadi, Jordy or Drift. This is an event enjoyed by everyone, kids, dogs and handlers.
We'll be back for an August session ❤️

07/13/2026

Old Maine saying " You can't get there from here". MESARD says you haven't met a search dog! They'll go over, under and through, what gets in their way to get to the subject. Yesterday it was swim across a cove. Beck and Kenny showed the younger dogs how it's done!

06/28/2026

MESARD'S young dogs, Kenny, Nova and Ever out on Fitt's pond. Did you know dogs can smell someone missing in lakes, pond and rivers. K9 Scenting superpower!
Add in the comments other scenting jobs dogs do for us.

05/12/2026

MESARD is saddened by the of loss of Pilot Joshua Tibbetts. Before becoming a pilot for Warden Service, he was a familiar face for the SAR community. At searches, he was a computer mapping specialist. Our condolences go out to his family, friends and his MIF&W family 💔

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is heartbroken to share that Game Warden Pilot Joshua Tibbetts died this morning in a plane crash in Avon, ME.

Game Warden Pilot Tibbetts served the people of Maine as a Maine Game Warden for 18 years, including the last three years as a pilot for Maine Warden Service. In that role, his specialized aviation work supported search and rescue, law enforcement, fisheries and wildlife conservation, and public safety across the state.

This is an incredibly difficult loss for his family, friends, colleagues, and the entire Maine Warden Service. We ask the public to keep his loved ones, his fellow Game Wardens, and all those affected by this tragedy in their thoughts in the days ahead.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing. The Department will cooperate fully with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

We are grateful for the emergency personnel who responded to the scene and for the support already being shown to the Maine Warden Service family.