Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue

Nonprofit organization dedicated to finding missing persons and saving lives in RI. “To serve so that others may live.” Available 24/7.

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

Thank you @TheGeoProfiler and team! We truly appreciated your time today. We would highly recommend your training to other SAR teams as well — very informative and interesting!

[Lauren Lee Malloy @LaurenLee_915]

Today @RICSAR401 had a special opportunity to learn from @TheGeoProfiler and his team.

We spent the morning studying geographic profiling, winthropping, environmental scanning and terrain analysis, offender behavior, body deposition site selection, missing & lost persons, HRD searches and more.

It was a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with others in the field. Our facilitators today were located in Canada and Washington state, respectively; it’s amazing to think of how large the SAR network is, and so awesome to learn from others so far from RI.

Huge thanks to Doug and team for putting today’s session together and taking the time to meet with RICSAR! We look forward to continuing the conversation, and using lessons learned today in future search efforts.

#searchandrescue #ricsar #savelives

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

Today, we pause to honor all who have served.

Together with our four-legged partners, we stand in solidarity with all veterans, including our own veteran volunteers. Your service echoes in our mission to search, rescue, and serve so that others may live.

Thank you, always. 🇺🇸

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

Sunday funday!

K9 Charlie reminds everyone to keep their pets hydrated and cool.

And have fun!

#ricsar #searchandrescue

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

We are proud to serve the Rhode Island community! 💙⚓️🐾

[Providence Journal @projo]

Once unwanted, these lucky dogs were rescued. Now they're learning to rescue others. https://t.co/iPT70i2WK5

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

Thank you @mrkrynlds, Kris Craig @projo for coming out and joining the team for a day! We truly appreciate you all helping raise awareness about RICSAR.

[Lauren Lee Malloy @LaurenLee_915]

Thank you to the talented @mrkrynlds and photog Kris Craig of @projo for this fantastic feature about @RICSAR401!

We are so proud of all of our K9 teams, and so glad to see a few of our “rescued rescuers” featured in this story, including K9 Toby, K9 Eloise, K9 Baylee and K9 Charlie!

I will link to an additional short video by Kris in the comments below, that features several of these K9s and follows K9 Eloise as she works to find a “missing person” during training.

https://t.co/gJifbNSi85

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

Please consider supporting us for @401Gives! Thank you!

[Lauren Lee Malloy @LaurenLee_915]

@401Gives is here! Your donation to @RICSAR401 on April 1 & 2 will be put towards maintenance of our operations trailer and equipment. These essential tools aid us in our mission to save lives.

#RICSAR is a volunteer-run nonprofit and your support on 401Gives means so much…and with prize and match opportunities, your gift goes even further!

Visit our link to donate: https://t.co/pIDviW4S0I

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

So majestic 😍 look at those happy Tollers!!

[Knowledge = Power⚓️ @xperiement]

A friend from ⁦@RICSAR401⁩ asked me to take photos of her four Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers. One of them made it known that she wanted to be sopping wet for her photos. 😂 #SAR #workingdog #Toller #NovaScotiaDuckTollingRetriever #GoodDog

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

K-9 Diesel is gorgeous — and a little sassy. 😝

We had a great time training today. Despite muddy conditions, all K-9s successfully located our live subject in the woods, with excellent times for each search. As you can see, K9 Diesel was proud of himself for a job well done!

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

Volunteering while volunteering — we are so grateful for our amazing team members! This is awesome! 👏👏

[Knowledge = Power⚓️ @xperiement]

Started my fifth #iknitarod hat for @igivearod while hiding for @RICSAR401 search and rescue dogs. #multitasking #knitting #knit #SAR

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

Rule # 1: always have fun.

Sometimes these K-9s have *too* much fun. 😏

#ricsar #searchandrescue #rhodeisland

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

We are thinking of Ms. Ellora and her family today. Being DONE with chemo is the best Valentine’s Day present. Thanks to our @warwickripd & fire friends for their beautiful show of support for this brave little girl. #ElloraStrong

[Mayor Frank Picozzi @PicozziForMayor]

This morning at the Crowne Plaza there was a very special parade for a very special girl. Tomorrow Ellora will receive her last chemo treatment.
The WPD and WFD turned out as well as a lot of friends, relatives and supporters. Ellora is a Tomorrow Fund kid.
Congratulations!!!!

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

Love is in the air! 🥰

K-9 Limey giving kisses to his friend K-9 Zip’s mom/handler Vicki at our last training. Not only is K-9 Limey a great search dog, he’s also got a heart of gold. 💕

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! 💘

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

🎶 Watch us whip, watch us neigh neigh 🎶

Miss Academic sure adds some horsepower to the trailer.

Ok we’re done now!

[Lauren Lee Malloy @LaurenLee_915]

Maybe she’s barn with it, maybe it’s Neighbelline! 🐎

No, no, @RICSAR401 is not becoming the Rhode Island Equine Search and Rescue (but it would be SO cool if we got to ride horses) — just sharing a great shot!

This gorgeous mare is Miss Academic. She belongs to K-9 Limey’s mom/handler Cassie. When Cassie took our trailer to her house in between trainings recently, Miss Academic couldn’t resist gazing at her gorgeous reflection in the shiny RICSAR trailer siding, and then posing for a photo, of course.

Anyway, that’s enough horsing around for us this morning. Time to rein it in. 😏

Make it a great Monday, friends! Don’t stirrup any trouble and stay safe out there. 💙

#ricsar #searchandrescue #rhodeisland

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

Thank us later 👋

[Lauren Lee Malloy @LaurenLee_915]

💘Forget the overpriced flowers and chocolate! 💐🍫

Here’s @RICSAR401’s favorite Valentine’s Day gift ideas to keep in mind while you’re getting trampled in the Hallmark aisle:

❤️ Travel-sized first aid kit
💖 Flashlight with extra batteries
❤️ Survival blanket (room for snuggling 💕)
💖 Emergency poncho
❤️ Hand/body warmers
💖 Backup cell phone battery pack
❤️ Emergency survival tent
💖 Food bars with extended shelf lives (not as tasty as a Russell-Stover sampler, but prob a smarter choice)

If you decide to plan some spontaneous, romantic hike with your sweetheart, please be sure to be prepared! Stick to marked trails, don’t wear your fancy shoes and avoid the temptation to try and impress your date by making friends with wildlife. Nothing ruins the mood quite like needing to be rescued and having a whole bunch of K-9s barge in on things.

…But we’ll be your valentines if needed. 😉💕

#searchandrescue #RICSAR #rhodeisland

[Lauren Lee Malloy @LaurenLee_915]

The @RICSAR401 team is very excited to share an update about Toby — or should we say, K-9 Toby.

Toby was rescued from a horrific animal hoarding situation in Warwick, where he was kept with many other animals in filthy conditions. The majority of his first few years of life were spent in a cage.

And then he crossed paths with Matthew Zarrella.

Matthew, a retired Sergeant with the Rhode Island State Police, is credited with revolutionizing RISP’s K-9 unit. Matthew has conducted missing persons searches for local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as the United States Peace Corps and United States Military. Matthew has traveled to different parts of the world to work on cases with his canines, looking for missing persons and military personnel still listed as missing in action. He has also conducted searches in various parts of the United States and in the countries of Vietnam, Columbia, and Bolivia. Mathew is too modest to say it himself, but he’s truly a legend when it comes to search and rescue work. So, when he showed up at training one day with Toby, we knew that chocolate lab was never going back to any shelter — he was meant for much bigger things.

Fast forward a few months from that first meeting and K-9 Toby is now officially certified by the International Police Work Dog Association and American Patriot K-9 Training LLC in land human remains detection.

K-9 Toby doesn’t even look like the same dog we first met. His coat is glossy and he walks with a whole new confidence. Today, he had fun training with source and getting lots of love from the team. It was special for us to see him in his element, absolutely thriving in his new life. The sweet boy who survived a nightmare situation will now use his second chance to help bring answers and peace to families, and we couldn’t be more proud.

Congratulations to Matthew and K-9 Toby on the first of many achievements.

Special thanks to the Warwick Animal Shelter for making that call to Matthew, and for all they do to help animals in need.

#K9Toby #searchandrescue #rhodeisland #RICSAR

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

We’re so proud of K-9 Toby and Matthew for how far they’ve come. It was a treat watching Toby work today! Several of our K-9s are rescues — we love finding diamonds in the rough and watching them SHINE.✨

[Temi-Tope Adeleye @TemiTopereports]

Meet K-9 Toby! He was rescued from a terrible hoarding case in Warwick, only to later be adopted by former State Police K9 Director Matt Zarrella. Now he's certified in land human remains detection. We did a story last fall and it looks like time to revisit! Way to go y’all!

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

We’re pretty sure K9 Limey was just as excited as the rest of us to see sunshine during training today. Is it spring yet?! ☺️☀️

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

Repeat: all meetings should have dogs!!

And plenty of treats for said dogs. 😏

[Lauren Lee Malloy @LaurenLee_915]

@RICSAR401 held a team meeting this morning — and had a special guest!

Meet Creed. He is a 14-month-old German Shepherd and the newest addition to our President Jim Rawley’s family.

As many of you will remember, President Rawley’s beloved K-9 Apollo passed several months ago. His loss was and is felt deeply by our team, and he will always be remembered for his incredible work to support search and rescue efforts.

Creed certainly has some big paw prints to fill, but he’s off to a great start! Today, this sweet boy enjoyed walking around the circle to receive treats and pets, then relaxed while the humans discussed business.

All meetings should have dogs! 🐾

#RICSAR #alwaysready #searchandrescue

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

A year of RICSAR in 60 seconds:

[Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue @RICSAR401]

POV: you’re a RICSAR team member following K9 Eloise and handler/mom Marjorie to find a missing person in winter wilderness conditions.

This was a training exercise, but this is what it’s like to find someone. 💙

#alwaysready #searchandrescue