Current Instructors

We are excited for our 2026 instructor line up!

Area

Zephrin Allen

Zephrin has spent nearly a decade involved in K-9 SAR as a member of MARK-9 Search and Rescue based in Dallas, TX. Zephrin currently serves as the Team Leader and Head Canine Trainer for MARK-9 and currently deploys a German Shepherd and Labrador Retriever.

Zephrin has certified in Live Find and HRD through American Working Dog Association (AWDA) and National Search Dog Alliance (NSDA), where he also serves as a board member and Principal Evaluator for HRD and Area Search. Additionally, Zephrin is the founder and host of “Hunt-Find-Alert K-9 SAR” podcast, where he interviews experts in the SAR community.

Zephrin is a graduate of the Dick Stall online Detection/SAR courses and a student in the K9 Sensus Detection Dog Training Academy. He also serves as an Assistant H.R.D. instructor at the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State (FACTS).

Zephrin believes that the best instruction is helping the handler evaluate and critically think about their K-9s behaviour, and understanding the “Why” behind any challenges they are facing. His goal is for handlers to feel empowered to troubleshoot their K-9s behaviors and equipped to make informed decisions on how to adjust their training plan based on the needs of their dog.

HRD

Kryssie Thompson

Kryssie is currently a Sergeant Game Warden with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). She has worked for TPWD since 2015 and joined the K9 Team at the end of 2017. Kryssie was TPWD’s first Human Remains Detection K9 handler. Her first K9 partner, Dexter, certified annually through Utah P.O.S.T until TPWD developed their own training program and certification. She is now on her second K9, Rizzo, who is also certified in Human Remains detection.

Kryssie is an instructor at the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State. She also has extensive experience in real world deployments that include plane crashes, natural disasters, homicides, drownings, and missing people. She also has experience in working with numerous agencies from around the country. These agencies include
Texas Task Force 1, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Texas Rangers, Texas Office of the Attorney General, as well as numerous Sheriff’s Departments, Police Departments, and Search and Rescue/Recovery groups.

Kryssie enjoys assisting fellow K9 handlers in identifying challenges that they may be facing and giving handlers the tools to overcome these challenges. Kryssie encourages handlers to think outside the box when training to challenge their K9s so that they are prepared for challenges that they may face in real world deployments.

Trailing

Denise Alvord

Denise is a firefighter/paramedic in Colorado, and has been heavily involved in multiple aspects of emergency services and search and rescue for over 20 years. She has trained/certified 4 of her own dogs (starting her 5th); working in Trailing, Air Scent, Cadaver (land and water recovery), Avalanche and Disaster (FEMA Live Find and Human Remains). She is a K9 testing evaluator for state and national SAR certification organizations and is an adjunct instructor with K9Medic, teaching emergency medical field care. Denise is the Canine Coordinator for CO-TF1, Colorado’s FEMA disaster team. Taking over leadership of the team during COVID, she worked to rebuild their canine component, developing a cohesive team, achieving and maintaining 100% certification pass rate for teams testing.

Denise has also served as the Dog Group Supervisor and served on the Training Committee for her county Sheriff’s SAR team and served as the Regional Area Director, Standards Committee and Fielding Coordinator for the State wilderness dog organization. Denise has enjoyed the opportunity to train SAR and Law Enforcement groups across the country, working in a variety of terrain and climates. She has raised/trained/placed several working puppies who continued to successful SAR and Law Enforcement careers, as well as assisting in the mentoring/training of numerous successful dog teams. Denise continues to respond regularly to K9 requests across Colorado as well as nationally.

Denise enjoys training and working with handlers to assist in developing individualized training plans to maximize their dogs’ potential, emphasizing foundations and clarity as a team.