Mary-Ann Warren
Mary-Ann Warren has been working with dogs for over 29 years in various forms. She has trained her own dogs in protection, upland bird hunting, obedience, tracking and search. Since 1994, Mary-Ann has provided a trained and reliable canine resource in the profiles of lost person, water, human remains and disaster search for the organization the Search and Rescue Dog Association of Alberta®.
Amongst her accomplishments, Mary-Ann was the first female civilian to pass a RCMP civilian tracking dog certification in Alberta, Canada; as well she was the first civilian to be invited to work with the Canadian USAR Task Force II team based out of Calgary.
In 1999, Mary-Ann became the Training Director with the Search & Rescue Dog Association of Alberta®. She changed how training was done and provides structured training not only for the dogs but also for the handlers.
Mary-Ann, in the past, has sat on the Board and executive of the Provincial SAR Alberta organization for 5-years, gaining insight of the SAR community as a whole. She believes that cooperation between resources is essential. Mary-Ann has many accomplishments to add to her expertise. She has developed training, seminars, lectures and evaluation methods to provide to the search dog community. Mary-Ann is recognized throughout the search community in Alberta.
Within these years Mary-Ann has gained insight on why some methods work with some dogs and not with others. She has an understanding on dog behavior and how some dogs are more suited for the search dog profile then others.
In 2005, Mary-Ann was enlisted as a training consult and trainer for Synergy K9 Services. She provides her expertise in training of handlers and dogs in detection. Mary-Ann has taught obedience and tracking courses for many years to people interested in CKC trials and just for the pet owner.
She developed an obedience course specifically designed for the needs of the pet owner. Mary-Ann understands that in order to train a dog properly, one needs to follow a progressive method of moving forward. She recently developed a bark-alert training manual to aid those interested in a bark-alert-trained search dog. A manual will be available by Spring, 2008.
Mary-Ann Warren, of the Search & Rescue Dog Association of Alberta® (SARDAA), standing to the right of Chief Boyd, was awarded the Alberta Emergency Service Medal September 30, 2009. This medal is presented, upon application supported by an official agency, to those who have at least 12 years service within the SAR community. Mary-Ann is celebrating 15 years as a dog handler and contributes her expertise as SARDAA's Training Director. Chief Mike Boyd, Edmonton Police Service, presented the medal on behalf of the Province at a ceremony in Police Headquarters during a regular meeting of the EPS Executive Officers Team. Mary-Ann is honoured to have received this medal, particularly since it presented by Edmonton Police Service with whom she has worked on many SAR incidents.
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