A Tribute to K9 Service

A Tribute to K9 Service: Honoring November’s Decade of Dedication

November is a recently retired Search and Rescue K9 who has spent the past decade faithfully serving countless communities across the Southwest. November and her handler reside in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Alongside her dedicated handler, Dayna Dominguez, November logged thousands of hours in volunteer training to prepare for two of the most critical missions a SAR K9 team can undertake: finding the lost, and bringing closure to the grieving.

In the United States, the majority of search and rescue K9 teams are volunteer-based. What does that mean for handlers like Dayna? It means every bite of kibble, every piece of training equipment, every mile traveled for trainings, and every veterinary bill came out of her own pocket. The commitment wasn’t just one of time—it was, and continues to be, deeply personal and financial.

So what did November do?

November specialized in locating live missing persons in rugged wilderness areas throughout the Southwest. She searched for a wide range of individuals—from casual hikers who had strayed off familiar trails, to children, dementia patients and developmentally disabled adults, to seasoned hunters and outdoorspeople who vanished deep in remote terrain.

But her mission didn’t end there. November also played a vital role in “search and recovery” operations—helping locate the remains of missing loved ones when families were desperate for answers. Her work brought closure in the most difficult moments. November didn't just deploy on searches for individual loved ones, but also during two large-scale disasters: the devastating Calf's Canyon/Hermit's Peak fire in the Sangre de Cristo mountains (2022) and the Southfork fire near Ruidoso, New Mexico (2024).

Over the years, November and Dayna risked their safety in service of others—deploying on land, over water, and at times in the midst of hazardous environments with toxic chemical exposure, sewage, gas leaks, and unstable terrain "so that others may live."

Now, it’s our turn to give back to a K9 First Responder who has given her all. 

As a special tribute to November, consider adding 11 cents to your donation in honor of her namesake month! 

This campaign aims to help Dayna recoup November's extensive veterinary expenses that have accumulated over the past 12 months (totaling approximately $7,000.00). November's care will involve continued treatment, tests, and monitoring of episodes that result in impaired hind-end mobility. Continued care could run as much as an additional $2,000.00 over the next several months. After a lifetime of service, November deserves comfort and care in her retirement.

Please consider giving back to a K9 and handler who have given so much to so many communities over the past decade. Your support honors not just November’s work—but the enduring bond between a handler and her dog, forged through courage, sacrifice, and compassion.

November has received care at the following veterinary clinics in Albuquerque over the last twelve months: Eubank Animal Clinic, Roadrunner Emergency Clinic, Thrive Neurology Clinic and Blue Cross Veterinary Hospital.

This campaign was created and is being managed by Rebecca Penn. I reside in Las Cruces, New Mexico and have been a K9 SAR colleague and teammate of Dayna’s for over a decade. Any funds donated to this campaign will go directly to Dayna. Even a little donation means a lot right now. Please give what you can.

Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions, and thank you for giving back.

PS TIP The Gofundme platform has a slider scale for the amount you’d like to tip the platform on top of your donation. The slider is set to something like 10 dollars. Please be aware you can adjust that tip to Gofundme downwards! The tips to the platform go to Gofundme instead of November.