Blog | The Center for Forensic Training and Education

Why Keep K9 Training Logs?

By Deana Hudgins | Sep 13, 2022

If you have been involved with search and rescue for any length of time you are inevitably familiar ...

Behind The Scenes

By Kathleen Kelsey | Sep 1, 2020

Responding to a callout with our search dog is the culmination of years of training and thousands of ...

It’s All About YOU

By Kathleen Kelsey | Aug 26, 2020

A few weeks ago I came to you live on Facebook from the hot and humid woods of ...

K9 Water Training – Where We Go Wrong

By Deana Hudgins | Aug 19, 2020

HRD Water workshops are among our most requested courses at CFTE. From beginner to operational teams, handlers are ...

It’s All About Balance

By Deana Hudgins | Jul 26, 2020

During a recent workshop one of the handlers asked me how I divided my time between water, disaster ...

5 Day Trained Final Response Challenge

By Kathleen Kelsey | May 10, 2020

As defined by the Crime Scene/Death Investigation–Dogs and Sensors Terms and Definitions, ASB Technical Report 025, First Edition ...

Let’s Talk: Networking With Agencies To Increase Callout Frequency

By Deana Hudgins | May 3, 2020

FREE TRAINING WEEK #5 Welcome to fifth installment in our free training series. There is more than just training ...

Challenging Your Deployable Dog: Searches for Small Spaces

By Deana Hudgins | Apr 27, 2020

FREE TRAINING WEEK #4 Thank you for joining us for the fourth week of our free training series. ...

K9 Decon: Your Partner’s Health And Safety Are On The Line

By Erin Perry, MS, PhD | Apr 19, 2020

FREE TRAINING WEEK #3 Welcome to third installment in our free training series. This week we are bringing ...

No! Don’t Touch That! (Stopping Unwanted Behaviors At Source)

By Deana Hudgins | Apr 11, 2020

FREE TRAINING WEEK #2 Welcome to the second installment of our free training series. We are here to ...

K9 Search Response In The Era Of COVID-19

By Deana Hudgins | Mar 25, 2020

FREE TRAINING WEEK #1 Welcome to the first installment of our free training series. While you and your ...

What A Cute Puppy!

By Deana Hudgins | Mar 12, 2020

"What a CUTE puppy! Can I meet him? He's so sweet!" After training numerous retrievers for SAR work ...

When Life Gives You Lemons (aka field of goose poop)

By Kathleen Kelsey | Mar 5, 2020

My wise granny always says, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." In this case, when life gives ...

Part 4: Blue-Green Algae & Your Search Dog

By Deana Hudgins | Aug 18, 2019

In the final installment of our 4-part series on blue-green algae, CFTE Founder and K9 Handler Deana Hudgins ...

Part 3: Blue-Green Algae & Your Search Dog

By Erin Perry, MS, PhD | Aug 16, 2019

In Part 3 of our 4-part series on blue-green algae, professor, decontamination expert, and FEMA Canine Search Specialist ...

black lab leaning over boat licking water

Part 2: Blue-Green Algae & Your Search Dog

By Eileen Jenkins DVM, MS, DACVIM (SAIM) | Aug 16, 2019

In this 4-part series a few trusted experts will be joining us to help us get clear on ...

Part I: Blue-Green Algae & Your Search Dog

By Dr. Eliodora Chamberlain | Aug 15, 2019

In this 4-part series a few of our trusted experts have joined us to help get clear on ...

Instructor

Fire Science & Emergency Medicine– Sinclair Community College

Executive Director-K9 Karma

President– Ohio Disaster Search Dogs

Founding & Former Member, Search Team Manager; Canine Coordinator- FEMA: Ohio Task Force One

Former, Canine Search Specialist; Canine Evaluator – FEMA: Ohio Task Force One; California Task Force One; Indiana Task Force One

Former, Subject Matter Expert, Instructor– FEMA Canine Search Specialist Course

Region III Rescue Team-Member

Evaluator & Instructor – Indiana Homeland Security Search and Rescue

Tactical Medic & Instructor-Tri-Med Tactical

Athena Haus has 28 years of experience in the field of Search and Rescue with 26 of those in public service, as a Firefighter/Paramedic and Fire Officer. She was a Founding Member of FEMA Ohio Task Force One where she served as a Search Team Manager, Canine Coordinator and Canine Search Specialist when the team was in its infancy, helping to build the training program and current disaster site. She has also served as a Canine Search Specialist for FEMA California Task Force One and Indiana Task Force One, working both human remains detection and live find canines. Athena has deployed as a Canine asset with all three FEMA teams while she was a rostered member. She is the founder of K9 Karma, a canine training business, specializing in the working canine and behavioral canine issues.

For the past 20 years, she has traveled the country as an instructor, evaluator, and facilitator for search and rescue, as well as, tactical medicine classes and workshops. Athena specializes in live find disaster search and wilderness, as well as, human remains detection land and disaster. She has responded to countless disaster and missing person searches for local, state and federal agencies. She has managed several large scale local incidents as the Commanding Fire Officer operating in a Unified Command Structure. She frequently consults as a subject matter expert for large scale disaster training exercises, providing guidance in search strategy and planning and resource management. During her years as a disaster and fire service responder, Athena repeatedly saw that there was a lack of resources and training opportunities to fully prepare canine handlers and teams to manage canine injuries. She established BARK; Basic Aid to Responder K9 program, partnering with Tri-Med Tactical, providing training at the Ohio Fire Academy, Ohio Tactical Officer Association, IDHS as well as other organizations. This training ensures that teams with canines embedded in the disaster and tactical environment have access to basic, real world, hands on canine medical training.

By Deana Hudgins | Sep 13, 2022

By Kathleen Kelsey | Sep 1, 2020

By Kathleen Kelsey | Aug 26, 2020

By Deana Hudgins | Aug 19, 2020

By Deana Hudgins | Jul 26, 2020

By Kathleen Kelsey | May 10, 2020

By Deana Hudgins | May 3, 2020

By Deana Hudgins | Apr 27, 2020

By Erin Perry, MS, PhD | Apr 19, 2020

By Deana Hudgins | Apr 11, 2020

By Deana Hudgins | Mar 25, 2020

By Deana Hudgins | Mar 12, 2020

By Kathleen Kelsey | Mar 5, 2020

By Deana Hudgins | Aug 18, 2019

By Erin Perry, MS, PhD | Aug 16, 2019

By Eileen Jenkins DVM, MS, DACVIM (SAIM) | Aug 16, 2019

By Dr. Eliodora Chamberlain | Aug 15, 2019

Tim Houweling

Instructor

Registration Opens on November 1st!

Tom Haus

Instructor

Athena Haus

Instructor

Kathleen Kelsey

Online Program Director

Nick Fathergill

Training Director

Deana Hudgins

President/CEO