THE CREW

Sonja Heritage

Owner & Head Trainer

Master Trainer Sonja Heritage, owner of Heritage K9, offers 20 plus years of real world, high-drive, international working dog experience, in addition to 6 years as Head Trainer at Search Dog Foundation, to you and your dog’s training plan. 

As a handler, trainer, instructor and evaluator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its disaster response system throughout those years to the present day, she has worked with thousands of dogs, owners and handlers and continues to do so. As the head trainer at SDF, she designed and implemented their rescue dog candidate screening and disaster training protocols and their training props. She also implemented that training daily and conducted their pairing and training courses as well as continuing their training with field visits while working towards certification with their sponsoring agency and beyond.

Sonja’s disaster response experience as a K9 handler is extensive. 

Here are the Top 20 by dates:

20. Montecito Mudslides 2018

19. Haiti Earthquake. Port–au- Prince, 2010

18. Hurricane Earl 2010

17. Earthquake Chile 2010

16. School Collapse, Port–au- Prince Haiti 2008

15. Hurricane Gustav 2008

14. Hurricane Ike 2008

13. Hurricane Ernesto 2006

12. Hurricane Isabel, Fairfax VA 2005

11. Hurricane Ophelia 2006

10. Hurricane Rita, Dallas TX  2005

9. Hurricane Katrina, Gulfport MS

8. Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans LA 2005

7. Earthquake, Bam Iran 2003

6. Space Shuttle Columbia, TX 2003

5. Pentagon Attack, 2001

4. Pentagon- Operation Nobel Eagle –Human Remains Recovery 2001

4. Hurricane Floyd 1999

3. Earthquake, Toliou, Taiwan 1999

2. Earthquake, Izmit Turkey 1998

1. US Embassy, Nairobi Kenya 1998

Sonja is highly respected in many venues of the dog world from law enforcement, FEMA disaster search and rescue, sport, and detection to obedience and behavior issues. She has had outstanding mentors and continues to watch, listen and learn from those who walk the walk, and in doing so, has a multitude of training techniques, tools and protocols that most trainers have never had access to. All dogs aren’t the same and one training plan or philosophy does not fit all.

At Heritage K9 we LOVE what we do and we would love the opportunity to help you and your dog!

JJ Heritage

Assistant Trainer

 JJ has been working with animals since she was a small child and always knew she would end up working with animals when she grew up. Rescuing anything that needed her help, training her own personal pets, eventually branching into working with horses as a teen. Four years of FFA under her belt, over 10+ yrs of horse training and handling skills (especially problem horses and starting young horses!) and two years of managing a horse barn. After stumbling across detection work with dogs JJ became hooked and started down the road to becoming a dog trainer. 

 JJ is a multipurpose service dog handler, currently training her third partner for hearing alert, PTSD and hypoglycemia alert. Her first service dog was Sonja’s K9 partner Asta who already had the obedience, experience and exposure to be a service dog, we just had to put a few tasks on her to assist JJ in her daily life. The difference in JJ was immediate and extreme, she has continued to grow as a handler and a trainer and most importantly as a person. She is training her third partner and her most ambitious dog yet.