There are many types of search and rescue dogs and each one has to be specially trained for their particular area of expertise.
Most rescues don’t make headlines, a lost walker or climber maybe rates a line in the local paper and we are totally unaware that lives are constantly being saved by volunteers and their dogs.
The current world record for the longest ever track occurred in South Africa in 1925, the dog was a Doberman Police Dog called Sauer and she tracked a cattle rustler on foot over a distance of 100 miles despite having to go through the Great Karoo, a scorching semi-desert She had previously tracked a man for 132 hours, thought at the time also to be a world record.
Footnote. She was almost dismissed as a failure during training.
This is the type of dog that is likely to go searching for you if you find yourself missing on Moors, Dales or Mountains in the UK and around the world German Shepherd Dogs, Labradors, Golden Retrievers and Border Collies tend to be the favoured breeds.
These dogs follow a scent by working at an angle to the wind and a scent source can reach them from a distance of at least a quarter of a mile. The dog is trained either to stay with the casualty and bark or wag it’s tail to indicate success or return to its handler, indicate having found the subject and show the location.
The skill of being able to work one of these dogs takes years of training as terrain, temperature, humidity, pollution, wind speed and wind direction are all factors that affect the dogs ability to find the casualty. No matter how good the dog an untrained handler negates the skill of the canine.
The image of a huge St Bernard Dog complete with a miniature barrel of schnapps dangling beneath his neck, digging the buried skier out and refreshing the victim with warming dram of alcohol is not a reality. Whilst this iconic dog is still used the modern rescue team usually go in by helicopter and the St Bernard is just too big!
Today the job is more likely to be done by a German Shepherd, Retriever, or a Collie who are all able to detect a missing skier under 15 feet of snow. One highly trained dog can search 1 hectare (2.5 acres) in 30 minutes whilst it would take 20 people with probes approximately 4 hours to complete the same task. Assuming that the skier has not suffered fatal injuries but is buried in snow there is a 90% chance of survival if found in the first 15 minutes this, however, is reduced to 30% after half an hour and 10% after 2 hours. A quick glance at the figures tells us that without the dogs most avalanche victims have little chance of survival
Generally, giant breeds are unsuitable for SAR with exception of the Newfoundland. A massive dog with webbed feet, yes it is true this dog has webbed feet, they are the ultimate water rescue dog. Usually fitted with a harness or jacket with a loop or handle that a person in difficulties can hold the “Newfi” is so big and powerful that he can tow someone back to the shore with ease. In the case of unconscious victims, this extraordinary dog is trained to take hold of an arm and swim toward land. Stories abound regarding the exploits of this breed from totally untrained Newfoundlands instinctively swimming out to rescue people in distress to the legendary tale of the “Newfi” in 1919 towing a lifeboat containing 20 people to safety.
*Epitaph to a dog*, a poem attributed to Lord Byron speaks of “courage without ferocity” when referring to the Newfoundland.
The most reported one in living memory is the terrorist attack in the United States of America when over 100 SAR dogs attempted to find survivors buried in the rubble of The Twin Towers The last survivor discovered by the dogs was found under the debris after being buried alive for 27 hours. The dogs continued to work for days without success so firefighters were asked to lay down and “be found” so as not to discourage the dogs. Due to the high risk to the dogs a dedicated canine medical camp staffed with veterinary surgeons was set up to treat injuries particularly to paws and canine ambulances were on constant standby. What is not common knowledge is that a number of therapy dogs were brought to the scene just to provide comfort and relieve stress for the rescuers who were so traumatised. The long term psychological damage to rescuers in general and dog handlers was unfortunately transferred to many of the dogs, such is the bond between handler and dog.
These are the dogs who attend the aftermath of earthquakes, landslides, collapsed buildings and the devastation caused by hurricanes worldwide.
“They go into void spaces, anywhere we can get them in. The site is very difficult agility for the dogs. They are crawling about on their bellies and squeezing through things. It is amazing to watch.”
Sharon Gottas. Dog Handler- Riverside Search and Rescue. Ground Zero.
These dogs search for buried or hidden human remains, and those submerged under water. Due to the sensitive nature of their work there is, quite rightly, little publicity given to these dogs but whilst they don’t rescue people in the accepted sense they bring comfort and closure to the relatives of the missing. Even with the advent of modern technology such as Ground Penetrating Radar we have not even come close to building a machine that comes close to replicating the dogs nose.
What is rarely mentioned is the contribution of canines in the 1988 Lockerbie disaster when up to 50 of these specialist dogs covered an area of over 800 square miles.
These are just a sample of the thousands who have lived their lives for our benefit.
BARRY the St Bernard avalanche dog who between1800-1814 is credited with saving 40 lives and once saved a child by carrying it on his back.
BILBO the Newfoundland water dog who worked with the lifeguards at Sennen in Cornwall England and who not only saved lives but assisted in the education of hundreds of children with safety procedures regarding water.
BUSTER the cadaver dog whose speciality was to find the graves of military personnel missing in action (MIA). He worked in Normandy France and in Belgium in the area of the Battle of the Bulge. He was also taken to the ATOL of Tarawa situated in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific where he is credited with finding dozens of remains.
BRETAGNE (pronounced Brittany – Pictured) was a veteran of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Rita plus the twin towers terrorist attack. She was believed to be the last living canine survivor from the twin towers disaster. This extraordinary dog was already a legend in her own lifetime when in 2016 at the age of 16 years of age she was euthanized as she was suffering from kidney failure.
As she made her final walk she passed a line of firefighters who stood to attention and saluted.
As I am writing this the news shows the collapse of a building in Miami USA. Without a doubt, within minutes all available Search and Rescue dogs will be on the scene waiting to be told when they can start.
Only hours later it appears that the Czech Republic has just been hit by a freak tornado, the devastation is described as apocalyptic. Once again the dogs will be needed.
“Do you ever look at your dog and think… How did I get so lucky?”
Anon
With subtitle or not?