K-9 S.O.S. strongly encourages continuing education for its members. The founding members of K-9 S.O.S. completed the Fundamentals of Search and Rescue Course (FUNSAR). The class was offered through NASAR. The forty-seven hour course provided knowledge regarding responsibilities, skills, and the equipment needed by SAR field-ready personnel assigned to operations during a search call. Lauri and Kathy both passed the written exam to earn SARTECH III status.
A practical field exam the following week consisted of six stations where the evaluated search and rescue skills included: Land Navigation, Tracking, 24-hour Pack, Rope Skills, Route Search, and Area Search. Lauri successfully completed five stations achieving a SARTECH III status. Kathy achieved SARTEC II status after completing six stations.