CARDA - California Rescue Dog Association Information

Founded in 1976. CARDA is a 501(c)3 non-profit, and the largest volunteer search dog organization in America. The California Rescue Dog Association, Inc. (CARDA) is a group of volunteers with specially trained dogs dedicated to assisting in the search for missing persons. CARDA teams are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to respond to local, state, and federal law enforcement as well as other public service agency requests. CARDA’s mission is to train, certify, and deploy highly-qualified search dog teams to assist law enforcement and other public safety agencies in the search for lost and missing persons. CARDA search dog teams have participated in thousands of missing person searches and have saved public safety agencies millions of dollars through the use of volunteer resources. All CARDA services provided to requesting agencies and to the family of the lost person are free of charge. No person or agency is ever charged for CARDA’s services. CARDA members incur all costs including gas, vehicles, training, equipment, and dog expenses. We rely on donations from the community to continue supplying this vital service.