K9 Banks

Qualifications : Certified FEMA Disaster Dog. ARDA Certified Area Search Canine.

Favorite Treat: He's a Lab-it's all good!

Handler: Teresa M.

Breed: Labrador Retriever

Deployments: March 2011 to Japan, following Earthquake and Tsnuami. Haiti after earthquake in 2008. The 44th Presidential Inauguration.

Non-SAR trick: Banks can catch a frisbee with one already in his mouth from the first throw - and not drop either one!

Notes: Banks retired in June of 2013. Banks was quite the globe-trotter. He landed in Japan, after the tsunami, to search for survivors. He has trained in Paris and the U.K. He searched in Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake and he responded to the school collapse in Haiti in November, 2008. Banks also participated in the activation for the 44th Presidential inauguration.

A few years ago, Banks participated in a Stow-Away study. DHS and TSA were comparing resources used to detect humans hiding in different types of shipping containers, filled with different types of debris. The dogs won over the other resources tested.

No matter what he's doing, Banks is a happy dog. He loves to play with balls, tugs and frisbees. But his favorite activity is searching. Banks is a Maranatha Labrador.