About us

Have been where our clients are - we too have lost pets so we know the pain. 

 

We use a team of highly trained dogs to help find your beloved pet but we also use other tools as well so we are not limited in just one search method. Then, when we find your pet, we are able to rescue your pet - we do not need to put a burden on our already strained emergency services as our team have specialist rescue gear ready to be used to rescue your pet.

 

Our team undergo regular and intense training with international trainers to keep us up to date with the latest tracking and trailing methods and our dogs train just as hard! 

 

This is us: 

- The most experienced team in SA (we are the original missing pet search unit in Africa)

- Highly trained dogs and handlers

- Highest success rate in SA

- Fast response time

- Multiple dogs & handlers with different skills and abilities

- Do more than just search: we rescue as well

- Dogs and handlers trained to international search and rescue standards

- High risk rescue unit

 

A bit about our history... 

When Diane was 16, a group of disabled kids went missing in the Magaliesburg and Diane was lucky enough to flank a SAPS K9 Team and help with the finding of the kids. This sparked an interest. Then on 24 October 2011, a cat named Mouse went missing from the complex Diane lived in and she took out her dog named KD help search for Mouse. Sadly, to date Mouse was never found. But this put an idea in Diane's head but, her job in corporate took priority. In December 2019, KD died and Axl came into Diane's world and she started volunteering with K9 SARA. 31 May 2020 Diane resigned from her job and Healthy Hound was born with the idea of training dogs.

 

But then another twist came: on 26 June 2020, Diane acquired Zizou and in August of 2020 the team would start missing pet search and rescue. A first for South Africa!!! From the start the team was a success and in 2021 Axl joined the team. Helped by James and his daughter Charlotte, Diane trained her dogs to do this work and James would eventually join the team. 

 

Diane has done training with various organizations such as MARN (where she did a Pet Detective course), as well as various courses and workshops with Tactical K9 Africa (where she did certifications with both Jett and Zizou in mantrailing) and is currently studying with Georgia K9 who are the "world's premier K9 training company". This on top of having done her initial training with K9SARA. Diane is extremely focused on training and maintains that a well trained dog is vital for the successes that we have and when not working is either improving her own, as well as her team's knowledge or training the team and the dogs on more advanced methods. Diane also completed the Mission Ready K9 certificate program from Northeast Canine Conditioning which is a K9 fitness instruction institution. 

 

Diane and James are also in the process of writing up their own method of cat search training and are also writing a book on their work and their successes and experiences.  They have also completed the NASAR SAR Physical Fitness course and are busy with additional studies and training.

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In 2022 we suffered a massive loss with the death of Jett. This triggered a few other events, including our then business partner being asked to leave and a handler leaving too. 

 

We have come back from the stresses and strains stronger than ever!! 

 

Diane, James, and of course Charlotte and our team of incredible dogs are here to help you in your time of need.