Name: Train For Real Life Two Day Event
Start: 2025-03-08T08:00:00-08:00
End: 2025-03-09T20:00:00-08:00
Location: National Disaster Search Dog Foundation

This specialized Two-Day training event will provide challenging searches throughout the Search Dog Foundation’s National Training Center. If you haven’t trained here, this is your opportunity!
This incredible site includes several large rubble piles, a Pallet pile, Collapsed Freeway prop, Parking Lot Vehicle searches and Search City building searches…AND your K9 partner will get lots of exposure to good sources! All searches will be set up by experienced HRD trainers/handlers.
Oh, and did we say Night Searches?
All searches can be run blind, or we can give you as much information as you like regarding, locations of source and/or distractions, strategy, behavior changes, etc. Just let us know! You’re in charge! We will have a short discussion on behavior chains and how they affect your training before our searches begin-it’s quite eye opening!
Our goal each day is fun, successful learning!
* Limited to 14 Task Force Rostered Teams so grab your spot now!
* $600 both days (+tax and signup genius fee)
* No refunds due to upfront costs, but we will save you a spot in our next workshop!
Bunk style lodging is available onsite for $50 per night with Friday PM check in and Sunday AM checkout. Pillows, sheets, and a light throw are provided as well as towels and full showers. A wire crate is provided for each bunk too. Feel free to bring your own pillow and blanket if you like. Ventura also has several nice hotels that accept pets.
We’ll have Pizza for lunches Saturday and Sunday. Please BYOB, breakfasts, snacks and dinner items. We have two large fridge/freezers, a microwave, coffee maker, oven and a sometimes tricky, stove top. We may be able to coordinate some family style dinners as the roster fills out. There are also lots of good restaurants in Ventura.
Facilitators
Sonja Heritage is currently with CA-TF6 working Mischa, a black lab just under 2 years old, in HRD. They are scheduled to CE in February. Mischa will be her 5th FEMA certified K9, stepping into the pawprints of Asta, Czaro, Drako and Otto, all German Shepherds. Previously, Sonja was a proud member of Fairfax County’s Virginia Task Force 1 for 16 years. She also certified Czaro, Drako and Otto in wilderness with Search and Rescue Dogs or Maryland (SARDOM) an American Rescue Dogs of America (ARDA) team.
Sonja has an extensive international and domestic, canine deployment history. These deployments include earthquakes in Haiti, Turkey and Taiwan, the Pentagon, Katrina, the Space Shuttle Columbia, lots of hurricanes, tornados, and the Montecito mudslides. She has mentored many FEMA and SUSAR canine teams in the USA. She is a FEMA Instructor and Evaluator and has taught FEMA/USAID canine operations and canine training workshops throughout the world, including the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Taiwan.
Sonja came to CA to be the Head Trainer for Search Dog Foundation from 2012-2018. She designed and directed the builds of the rubble piles, search city and all the props we’ll be working with!
Sonja is the owner of Heritage K9 LLC. Along with Jaley, we train dogs for HRD, Service dogs for Allergen, Diabetic Alert and PTSD. We also offer obedience, agility and direction and control training, as well as puppy training, behavior modification and offer several board and train packages on two-plus acres in LA County.
Cait Clawson is currently FEMA certified with an HRD K9 named Swayze, a 3.5 year old Belgian Malinois. They have deployed to the Lahaina, Maui wildfires (Aug 2023), New Mexico wildfires (June 2024) and to eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina for Hurricane Helene (Oct 2024) as well as numerous local deployments with Utah Task Force 1 for law enforcement and the Utah State Fire Marshall. She is currently Canine Coordinator for UT-TF1.
She and Swayze are also members of Northwest K9 SAR, a multi-state wilderness and cold case group based in Cody, Wyoming.
During the 8 years Cait lived in Los Angeles, she became Mission Ready with an Area/Wilderness Live Find and C2 K9 named Redford. Redford, a cattle dog, is 11.5 years old and living the good retired life and doing his best not to let Swayze annoy him.