E. 5 NSDA PodCon: Roy Pescador and Joe Stacks

Welcome to the Search Dog Podcast, brought to you by the National Search Dog Alliance, the voice of canine search and rescue. 

This is the fifth episode of the 2021 National Search Dog Alliance Podcast Conference, an eight-part series on the past, present, and future of canine search and rescue. 

In today's episode, I welcome Roy Pescador and Joe Stacks to the podcast, both board members with the National Search Dog Alliance, and we discuss the future of canine search and rescue and the role of the National Search Dog Alliance. 

Roy Pescador  is the NSDA President and has been involved in Ground SAR and as a K9 Handler in the USA and Canada.  He currently deploys a K9 named Friday in multiple disciplines.  He is currently a GSAR member, Deputy Training Officer and a Board member with South Fraser in British Columbia.  Roy has experience in various aspects of SAR including mountain and swift water rescue.  He teaches K9 Seminars and workshops, trains handlers and consults with teams regularly.  Roy’s background is in scientific research involving electron microscopy.  He has been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals for techniques/protocol development, Alzheimer’s research, molecular biology, virology and cellular biology.  Roy is also a current Program Manager for Canines for Care.

Joe Stacks is the NSDA Vice president. He and K9 partner Maddie are former members of the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Volunteer SAR Team in Bend, Oregon. Joe has recently joined the Mt. Rainier Nordic Patrol Team  in Washington State.  K9 Maddie is an 9-1/2 year old Border Collie, and is certified in Avalanche and Area Search II, with extensive HRD training.

Prior to joining SAR, Joe spent 42 years in the Nuclear Power Field which included 6 years in the U.S. Navy serving on board a Nuclear Powered Polaris Missile Submarine in the Pacific Fleet. His civilian Nuclear career was primarily engineering, but also included collateral duties as a member of the Emergency Response Organization (ERO) which trained for and was activated during declared Nuclear events.

Joe has served in various National leadership positions throughout his professional career involving Nuclear safety, in SAR as the K9 Team Coordinator, and as well in other volunteer organizations, such as USA Hockey. 

Joe loves spending time in the wilderness with his family, and is a Mountain Ski Ambassador at Oregon's Mt. Bachelor. 

Our cover art is from the SAR Shop, where you can find gifts and gear for you, your dog, and your friends! Find them at sarshop.com.

If you would like to be a guest, or suggest someone else, or submit questions for future guests, get in touch with us as [email protected].