Sherri Hall : OSARC Founder, K9 Handler & Operations Manager
OSARC team leader Sherri, has worked with animals her entire life and was lucky to make a living off her passion with several businesses over her 30 year career from offering municipal animal control and pound services, municipal/private Goose/Swan egg oiling programs and Bed Bug detection K9’s.
Sherri has taken the OSPCA animal cruelty course and is a strong advocate for animal welfare. Sherri has been a breeder of golden retrievers with the CKC for 30 years and is active in many dog sports and is a credited scent work judge with the CKC, AKC.
In 2019 beginning retirement, Sherri started OSARC (Ontario Search and Recovery Canines) as she felt there was such a void in the recovery options in Ontario for Families of missing loved ones. She certified as a K9 Handler with her dogs K9 Zula (Dutch Shepherd Retr’d) and K9 Talon (Malinois) in Human Remains Detection in 2019 and is currently cerrified under NASAR, specializing in cold case and Historical recoveries. She is now training her 3rd HRD dog, K9 Kon a Swiss Shepherd.
Debera Salo : K9 Handler & Researcher
A retired Air Traffic Controller, Deb adopted her first dog, a rescue black lab named Ella. Deb joined OSARC in 2020 and Deb and Ella certified in HRD Land with Eastern States Working Dog Association (ESWDA) in 2021. Also in 2021 Deb purchased a yellow lab pup, K9 Rinnie.
K9 Rinnie is certified with the International Police Work Dog Association in Water Recovery, Land and Crime Scene, as well as Land certification with ESWDA.
Deb and K9 Rinnie travel extensively attending seminars and workshops for continued education in water recovery, crime scene, graves and historic burials.
Cheryl : K9 Handler & Head Flanker
Cheryl has been training in tracking and human remains detection since 2016 and a volunteer with Ontario Search and Recovery Canines since 2022. She believes variety is important to solidify your relationship with your dog and participates in various seminars to build her knowledge. Cheryl is an active member of Canadian Canicross Sports Club and competes in races across Ontario.
Cheryl’s canine partners are Serrano, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, certified HRD with Eastern States Working Dog Association for Land and Fuze, a 7-year-old Belgian Malinois. She is expanding her training to include historical human remains detection.
Professionally, Cheryl is a progressive individual with over 20 years senior leadership experience in the charitable sector.
Heather Parsons : K9 Handler, Media & Marketing
Heather has been in the animal industry for her entire career, spending time with nutrition companies, animal supplements, working in animal control, and in veterinary practices. Her primary focus is on marketing and she brings her skills to the OSARC team.
She has been training dogs for the past 25 years. Competing with her other Dalmatians in nosework/scentwork created a love of the amazing capabilities of a dog’s nose and the training to hone that skill and become a team. Looking for a meaningful way to volunteer, she decided to work towards HRD certification with her newest Dalmatians K9 Murder and K9 Terror.
Heather breeds Dalmatians under the BedlamAcres prefix. Her dogs are regularly in the top standings in a variety of events in Canada and North America.
John Grima : Search Manager
John William GRIMA has over 50 years of experience in training and handling dogs for numerous profiles. He started training dogs for Obedience, Retriever Trials and Shutzhund as a young man. He served as a Police Officer for 25 years with Metropolitan Toronto Police, in Canada, where he implemented their Canine Unit and was both a handler and trainer.
After retiring in 1998 from the police department, John set out on his own, becoming a private trainer and handler in Patrol and Detection Dog profiles for Police, Security, Customs, Agriculture, Military, Search and Rescue and Blue Chip Companies, worldwide. He has Certified several dogs in SAR, HRD, Narcotics, Explosives and Police Work with NAPWDA, CPCA, USPCA, ESWDA and the British Home Office. Then in 2009 he worked for the US Marine Corp, Navy SEALS and Army Rangers, training dogs to find IEDS in Afghanistan and Iraq during the wars. In 2013 he came back to Canada and has been concentrating on Certifying dogs for HRD and SAR. He has certified in several FEMA, NIMS Search Manager Courses.
