Thank you for your interest in search and rescue and Rensselaer County Search and Rescue
(RCSAR). For more information or to attend an information session, contact us!
Please review these Frequently Asked Questions prior to submitting a RCSAR-Membership Application

Please review these Frequently Asked Questions prior to submitting a membership application.

What does Rensselaer County Search and Rescue do?

We are an all-volunteer non-profit organization that assists law enforcement and other emergency services organizations in finding lost and missing persons
Our main tool for finding lost and missing persons is the bloodhound due to their amazing ability to discriminate between scents of different people.
RCSAR responds to searches 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Members have skills in map & compass, GPS, computerized mapping, communications, methodical searching, search dog handling, EMS, rope rescue, man tracking, and search management

How do I become a member? What will I be doing after becoming a member?

To become a member, you’ll need fill out a membership application and be voted in at a regular business meeting
- Once you become a member you’ll be on probation for at least one year. If you successfully complete your probation, you’ll become an active member
All members are required to attend a certain amount of the following:
- Business meetings and class room trainings on the 1st Wednesday of each month
- Hands on drills on the 3rd Wednesday of each month
- Community education events
- Searches
- Fundraising events
All members start out on the Field Team that follows the dog and dog handler on trails. They watch out for the dog and dog handler to make sure they stay out of danger, watch out for clues and the lost/missing person, are in charge of the GPS, and handle radio communications

When would I get called for a search?

You’ll need your initial training and have your personal search and rescue equipment checked off by the training committee
- You’ll need to purchase your own personal search and rescue equipment.
On average we have 10 searches a year.
Searches happen any time, any day, in any weather condition.

What about the dogs?

We mainly use bloodhounds but will also use other search dogs as well
Not every member has a dog
You probably can’t use a dog you already own
Search and rescue isn’t something you ‘do’ with your dog. Search and rescue is a serious undertaking that requires more discipline and critical thinking than non-life and death dog activities.
If you’d like something to ‘do’ with your dog you should check out some of the non-life and death dog activities such as fly ball, rally obedience, agility, companion training, AKC tracking, therapy work.

What’s involved in being dog handler? Can I become a dog handler?

Being a dog handler takes a lot of time, money, and thinking.
The handler trains their own dog with the help of senior handlers
It’s a part time job, you’ll need to consistently train your dog
You’ll need to do a lot of training outside of in house training we provide
People’s lives depend on how well your dog is trained
To become a dog handler you need to be a member for at least one year.
- Dog handlers are in charge of the search for RCSAR so you need to have an excellent understanding of how we work before you become a dog handler

For those that search, it can rightly be considered a calling with the rewards far
outweighing all the sacrifices (family, time, money, sweat, and sometimes tears) put into
the training and deployment.
Thank you for considering search and rescue as a solemn pursuit. We look forward to
meeting you.