AS A SEARCH AND RESCUE K9 HANDLER, my fundamental duty is to serve humankind: to preserve life, to alleviate suffering, to respect human dignity and to encourage the utilization of professionally trained canines.

I will promote the team concept within the SAR community and will not behave in a manner that brings discredit to my team or me. I will develop self-restraint and be constantly mindful of the welfare and feelings of others. I will treat others with the same dignity and respect I wish to be treated with. I will not criticize incident command, as I am not privy to the same knowledge.  Honest in thought and deed, I will not utter an untruth towards any other team member, team or agency.

I will not permit personal feelings or ideologies to interfere with the mission of saving human lives. I will utilize all properly trained resources, no matter what their affiliation or political beliefs. I will not engage is public ridicule, nor will I condone such acts by other K9 handlers.

I will conduct myself in an exemplary fashion, both in my personal and professional life. I will not use my service to seek out public recognition or self-promotion.  If called upon to provide information to the media, I will promote the professional cooperation between agencies, giving credit where credit is due.

Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature, will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty. I will not discuss the aspects of a search that is an ongoing criminal investigation. I will hold in confidence the information provided by law enforcement and will cooperate with all legally authorized agencies and their representatives involved in the search process.

I realize that I, alone, am responsible for the professional performance of my dog and myself and I will take every opportunity to enhance and improve our level of knowledge and competence. As a professional K9 handler, I support the use of certification testing to written criteria to predict canine performance and successful completion of testing requirements prior to fielding a canine in an actual search.

I will constantly strive to achieve and maintain these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God and man to my chosen service – Search and Rescue K9 Handler.

by Jonni Joyce

Here is a printable version of the Handler's Code of Ethics. (PDF format)

View the list of search and rescue teams that have adopted this code of ethics!