About Canines for Heritage Preservation

Canines for Heritage Preservation supports efforts to locate potential unmarked human burials by providing dog-handler teams specially trained for archaeological and cultural resource contexts.
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Why This Work Matters

Across many landscapes, human burials exist outside formally recorded cemeteries. Detection dogs provide a non-invasive method to identify these areas to support preservation, avoidance, and informed land-use decision making.

Our Commitments

We conduct surveys with discretion, respect for communities, and collaboration with archaeologists, Tribal representatives, and land managers. Projects are carried out with an understanding of cultural resource management frameworks, including NHPA, NAGPRA, and AIRFA.

Background and Experience

Canines for Heritage Preservation integrates detection dog survey with archaeological and cultural resource management practices.

Archaeological and historic preservation experience
Specialized detection dog training and handling
Field survey logistics and GPS mapping
Collaboration with archaeologists, Tribal representatives, and land managers

The training for these detection dogs is necessarily site-specific and often opportunistic. It depends on partnerships with cemetery managers, land stewards, and Tribal Nations who are willing to allow controlled training access to appropriate locations, including historic and pre-contact burial sites.

This work is conducted only with permission and is guided by respect for cultural values, site protection, and community priorities. Our site access partners benefit through advancing the goals of preservation, documentation, and responsible stewardship of their sites during the training sessions.

We are eternally grateful for these partnerships that assist us in advancing our expertise.

About Melissa

CHP owner Melissa pictured with her detection dog Hawk.

Melissa Kindt is the founder of Canines for Heritage Preservation and lead handler for the detection dog teams. Her work focuses on the use of archaeological human remains detection (AHRD) dogs to support the identification and documentation of unmarked burials, historic cemeteries, and culturally sensitive sites.

Her approach integrates detection dogs with geospatial analysis, remote sensing, and sUAS data collection to support accurate, non-invasive field investigations. She has contributed to archaeological and research-based projects across the United States, working alongside archaeologists, researchers, and public agencies in a range of environmental and operational contexts.

Melissa’s work is informed by ongoing academic training in anthropology, archaeology, forensic anthropology, and GIS, with a focus on detection methods and remote sensing in burial identification. She maintains certifications in human remains detection dog handling and FAA Part 107 sUAS operations, supporting a consistent, standards-based approach to fieldwork and data collection. Melissa is actively researching remote-sensing applications for unmarked burial detection in the forms of sUAS based sensors (LiDAR, thermal, etc) and bio-sensors (trained detection canines). She recently presented two of her undergraduate term projects at Colorado Council for Professional Archaeologists. One was a comparison of various sUAS-borne sensors to collect high resolution data in Western Colorado historic cemeteries to identify burials. The other was a GIS-based study to determine the mean distance between an AHRD dog's trained final response (TFR) and a burial-type anomaly in other remote sensing data (GPR, LiDAR, Thermal, MSI) in historic cemeteries.

Her experience with detection dogs began in search and rescue and evolved into forensic and archaeological applications. Hawk, a working-line German Shepherd, played a foundational role in this transition. While now largely retired, his influence remains central to her work. Melissa’s current working partner, Cheela, is a Belgian Malinois trained in archaeological human remains detection and active in field deployments.

Recognizing the importance for professional standards and community support and education, she is a founding member of Canine Resources for Archaeology, and The Society for Dogs, and sits on the Colorado State University Drone Center's Subsurface Imaging Technology Test Site (SIITS) committee for archaeological research using drone based technologies for subsurface imaging.

In addition to professional work, Melissa remains active in the working dog and preservation communities through training, mentorship and certification testing of search and rescue/recovery dog handlers, and support of public education efforts, including volunteer work with the Ute Indian Museum. She also contributes time to local projects involving historic burial grounds.

She is experienced in the outdoors through childhood recreational adventures, Girl Scouting, and, more recently, hunting, and nearly a decade of back country search and rescue.

Melissa standing with Cheela, a Belgian Malinois, with mountains in the background

Registrations & Certifications

Canines for Heritage Preservation is
Small Business Administration (SBA.gov) Certified EDWOSB/WOSB & HUBZone

And federally registered (SAM.gov) under the following codes:

UEI: KSCDA9GSNHG3 | CAGE Code: 1ARA0 | DUNS: 145067394
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NAICS:
541620 – Environmental Consulting Services (F999)
541720 – Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (B503, B521, AH22)
541370 – Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (C219, T008*, T009*)
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UNSPSCs:
93141707 – Cultural heritage preservation or promotion services
93141713 - Historic sites or monuments protection services
81151705 - Archaeological services
81151603* - Photogrammetry
81151601 – Mapping

*Subject to American Security Drone Act (FAR 52.240-1) restrictions on federal contract use

Trusted Partners and Collaborators

Canines for Heritage Preservation maintains relationships with independent industry professionals to support project needs, including archaeological human remains detection dog teams, field technicians, principal investigators, and specialists in geophysical survey and aerial site imagery.

Our AHRDD team partners are trained and evaluated against standards covering handler experience, canine readiness, working knowledge of preservation legislation and archaeological sites, and demonstrated field and reporting skills, before any team is deployed to fieldwork.

Collaborations are structured to align with project scope, location, and client requirements, allowing methodology to scale beyond canine detection alone when a project calls for it.

Kathleen Connor, DVM

Kathleen standing with her dog Seamus in the woods.

Kathleen Connor, DVM, is an experienced human remains detection (HRD) dog handler, partnering with eight dogs since 1997. In 2019 she began focusing on Archaeological Human Remains Detection with K9 Seamus and has participated in many AHRDD surveys alongside Paul S. Martin, MA, RPA and other Principal Investigators.

She is enrolled in the Archaeological Technician Certification Program through the Archaeological Society of Virginia. Dr. Connor is currently (2026) in the early stages of developing a research project involving the AHRD dogs in her geographic area, collaborating with local archaeologists.

Dr. Connor has long participated in wilderness search and rescue. She recently served on a mission in the Ukraine with Worldwide Vets to provide veterinary care for both owned and abandoned pets in western Ukraine. For two weeks, she worked alongside other dedicated volunteer veterinary professionals from around the world, and the local full time veterinary staff to provide medical assistance to animals in distress. She was responsible for delivering routine veterinary care as well as treating injured and sick animals during active crisis situations.

Kris Kircus

Independent parther Kris pictured with her detection dog Koppar.

Kris Kircus is a human remains detection dog handler with over five years of field experience and a growing specialization in archaeological and cultural resource management contexts. She has worked alongside archaeologists and CRM professionals in the field, contributing AHRD support to historic and prehistoric site investigations, and trains regularly with AHRDD handlers on historic burial detection, bringing both operational skill and a genuine understanding of the sensitivity and protocol demands that CRM work requires.

Kris is a stickler for proper field protocol, making her a natural fit for the multidisciplinary, compliance-driven environment of Section 106 and tribal consultation work. Her dogs Karma and Koppar are both NASAR HRD certified Border Collies with training in the complex odor environments common to archaeological survey.

Beyond her field work, Kris is the founder of Kappa9 Detection Dogs, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting handler education programs across the K9 SAR and HRD community. She is an active member of NASAR, SARDUS, and Texas Search and Rescue, and a founding member of The Society for Dogs.

Janie Merickel, MBA

Independent parther Janie pictured with her detection dog Charger.

Janie Merickel is the founder of Dog Merickel and creator of The Society For Dogs, a professional community focused on advancing detection dog training and application through structured learning and collaboration.

She is an Archaeological Human Remains Detection Dog practitioner supporting cultural resource management projects through systematic, science-informed detection work. She collaborates with partners to assist in the identification of unmarked graves and areas of potential human remains. Her approach emphasizes integration with archaeological research design, careful documentation of detection work, and interpretation of results within environmental and cultural context.

Her work is grounded in both detection science and field application. She has completed advanced training and continuing education through organizations including Detection Science Solutions, the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State, the Forensic Investigation Research Station at Colorado Mesa University, and the Canine Olfaction and Detection Science Conference at Florida International University. She has also participated in a National Institute of Justice forensic study examining the accuracy of human residual odor detection.

Janie holds an MBA from the University of Maryland and maintains professional certifications in dog training and handling. She is a Certified Training Partner through the Karen Pryor Academy (KPA-CTP), a CPDT-KA through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, and is completing advanced training through the Swedish Working Dog Institute.

Her field experience includes archaeological survey and compliance projects across a range of environments, including extended deployments and remote fieldwork. She has supported projects in Alaska and other locations in collaboration with CRM firms and public agencies, contributing to survey efforts related to infrastructure development and land management.

Janie's outdoor experience is extensive and includes many years as a backcountry search and rescue member and a ski-patroller in Summit County Colorado.