Mary has been working detection dogs, in Search & Rescue, since 1994 and a general dog enthusiast all her life. She’s had the opportunity of instructing SAR detection seminars for over 18 years as well as evaluating SAR detection teams during that same time period.
Mary was a SAR Instructor/Evaluator with the International Police Work Dog Association (2011 – 2023) as well as an Evaluator for the Tri-State K9 SAR organization (2007 – present). Over the years, she has participated in AKC obedience, Field (hunt) Trialing, Schutzhund/IPO, Mondioring, SAR and Scent Work/Nosework. She has instructed/evaluated SAR teams in Pennsylvania, Ohion, Arizona, Utah, Montana, Wyoming & Idaho. She, and her husband Dave, currently reside in Helena, Montana and are members of True North Search Dogs.
Mary has also been a Canine Search Specialist with the following FEMA teams; UTTF1, NMTF1 and TXTF1. While with UTTF1, she and her canine Phoenix, responded with the team to Hurricane Katrina. When living in Texas she responded to several incidents with TXTF1 as well.
Mary became a United Nosework Judge in 2013, before UKC took it over in 2015, and judged a few trials in Texas, before moving to Montana in November 2015. Currently, she is a Scent Work judge for AKC as well as a Senior Nosework Judge for UKC and NACSW. She has had the opportunity to judge Scent Work trials in Montana, Idaho, Utah & Washington, New Jersey, California and Illinois. Mary was asked to judge at the German Shepherd Dog Club of America National show in October 2020 in Springfield, Illinois.
Over the past few years she has been teaching seminars for Scent Work in Montana and Idaho and local classes in Helena. She started competing with her current SAR dog in January of 2019 and she quickly earned Level/Element titles for all three organizations and is readying for her third NW3 with NACSW.
She has also trained and titled IInca, a Belgian Malinois that she and Dave fostered for the MWD program at Lackland AFB. IInca washed out of the program and was a house dog for a few years before beginning her journey in the Scent Work/Nosework Arena.
Mary’s also owns and trains Watcher, a 3 year old German Shepherd, who happens to be Leighton’s nephew and the scent detection genes run deep in this awesome boy! He is flying through the levels in AKC Scentwork and loves to compete.
Mary looks forward to her partnership with Dog Tag Buddies and the Veterans they serve.
