Maine Search and Rescue Dogs (MESARD) is a non-profit, all volunteer organization formed in 1983 with the help of the Maine Warden Service. A MESARD team consists of a highly trained handler and search dog that have passed our demanding certification process. Teams receive extensive training and must meet rigid evaluation standards to become MESARD certified.

Both handlers and dogs must prove their proficiency as well as pass certification tests on a variety of realistic search problems. Handler training includes first aid, CPR, land navigation, radio communications, wilderness survival, crime scene preservation, the incident command system, ground search techniques and search organization.

MESARD dogs are certified in obedience and one or more of the following: wilderness air scent, tracking/trailing, water search, cadaver search and article search.