- The concept to start the first search and rescue dog team in Louisiana began in late 1989. After months of research and development to put together a solid training program, the first dog began training with its owner/handler in March of 1990.
- In January 1991, LaSAR was founded as a totally volunteer, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization involved in search and rescue of lost or missing individuals. The team is based in St. Tammany Parish.
- LaSAR is not bound by any parish or state boundaries and is available to local, state and federal agencies on a 24 hour basis at no cost to the agency or family.
- Teams (a dog and its owner-handler) are tested and must pass strict national certification standards before being allowed to respond to a call out. Teams are certified in one or more of the following disciplines: wilderness, water, building, cadaver, disaster and urban capabilities.
- Dogs are trained to identify human scent and have the ability to discriminate one human scent from another.
- In water searches, the team works out of a boat with the dog locating where the body's scent is breaking the surface of the water. This gives the divers or other volunteers a specific area to search for the body.