My Nonprofit Reviews

In April 1995 retired schoolteacher and gym coach Wilma Melville and her black Labrador Retriever search dog, Murphy, rushed to the site of the terrorist bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. At that time they were one of only 15 Advanced Certified disaster search dog-handler teams in the United States, and that glaring need made Melville determined to find a way to train highly skilled canine teams. So in 1996 she founded the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation.
All of the search dogs are rescues, canines eager for a job and filled with untapped energy. The NDSDF works with dozens of shelters and breed rescue groups to place and train hundreds of dogs. The organization has deployed teams to respond to a wide range of disasters, from tornados and mudslides to building explosions and train derailments.
Working tirelessly for years the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation has raised millions of dollars, with no government funding, to build the nation's first permanent national training center for search dogs on 125 acres in the Southern California foothills.
This is an incredible organization of selfless, lifesaving individuals performing a mission to save lives across the country and around the world.
For many years I was Senior Editor of DOG FANCY magazine, and during that time I spent time with many wonderful guide dog and rescue organizations, but no organization finer than the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation.