FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What is the Alpha Team?
Answer: We are an organization founded by a group of individual volunteers dedicated to assisting official law enforcement agencies with the tasks of finding, and or recovering lost and missing persons. Our team is very active in the community, and with search and rescue organizations across the United States. We work hard to be the very best team that we can be, and to always be prepared to assist when we are needed.
Q: Do you have physical fitness requirements?
Answer: Yes. Search and rescue is very demanding, and requires a great deal of physical and mental strength to be able to assist during emergency situations. All members of the team are tested annually for physical fitness and skills in first aid and CPR.
Q: Can dogs actually find lost people faster than many well trained searchers?
Answer: Yes, in addition to moving very quickly and having an incredibly keen sense of smell, sight and hearing, dogs are also very effective in the dark, and in rough terrain where typical ground search teams lose effectiveness.
Q: How long does it take to train and certify an operational search and rescue dog?
Answer: It depends on the specialty, the dog and the handler.In order to be a successful fieldable team in SAR the handler and the dog have to work flawlessly together, and both must be tested many, many times to insure that they are ready. The handler must also be CPR/ First Aid certified, licensed to operate VHF radios, and able to navigate in a wide variety of challenging terrain day or night. 18 to 24 months is the typical amount of time to certify as an operational team for ATSAR.
Q: What can I do as an individual to help your team?
Answer: Alpha Team needs volunteers to hide for our dogs, to help us coordinate training sessions, to assist with fund raising, and to procure supplies and equipment for the team. If you want to get involved in supporting a search and rescue team please call Stuart Samples at 404-314-7248, and he can tell you more about our goals and needs for the future.
Q: Can I donate money by mail or on-line to ATSAR?
Answer: Yes, the link below allows direct, secure donations to The Alpha Team with total privacy and anonymity with any major credit card. You can also mail a donation directly to us at 448 Scoggins Road, Dallas GA 30157, please make check out to ‘Alpha Team K9 SAR’. With either method, you will receive a receipt for your donation that is fully tax deductible.
Q: Is the money I donate to Alpha Team going to the people who need it, or do you have an overhead staff who receives a percentage of the funding?
Answer: Alpha Team is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization, and our accountant even donates his services to the team! 100% of all funds received go to support our training, the needs of our dogs, and towards purchasing and maintaining equipment and supplies so that we can be ready at a moments notice to deploy to search emergencies.
