Presentation: SouthEastern Search Dogs Demo

K9 Micha is a search and rescue dog owned, trained and handled by Leona Conner, President and Founder of SouthEastern Search Dogs. Lee was a career law enforcement officer and has been raising and training dogs for more than 50 years.

SouthEastern Search Dogs (SESD) is in high demand in the search dog community. Handlers and dogs trained by Lee have been used nationally and internationally for searches in very demanding situations and terrain. These include natural disasters such as earthquakes and storms, as well as operations that have transitioned from rescue to recovery. Lee trains handler and dog teams to search for human remains that are in isolated areas, scattered, buried, underwater or even burned.

SESD does not take pay or donations. Handlers and dogs are transported and lodged at handlers’ expense. If anyone wishes to thank SESD, please donate to your LOCAL ANIMAL SHELTER in our name.

Besides SESD training scheduled and conducted by Lee Conner, handlers and dogs attend training at institutions of higher education, also at their own expense. They are not sponsored by donors. These can include cadaver dog training, finding live victims, and forensic schools.

The first week of February 2025, K9 Micha and Leona Conner were requested to search in Mississippi for a missing victim. Handlers and dogs must be formally requested/invited in by law enforcement or other authorities.

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Coming June 14, 2025, Saturday, Decatur Public Library’s Readers & Writers Jubilee! Be on the lookout for more information.