For search and rescue dogs, training never stops
Search
and rescue dog handler Joyce Durham and Tank, her yellow
Labrador Retriever, head out Saturday morning during an
evaluation run to find a Goucher-White Plains firefighter
who walked into the woods earlier in the morning to simulate
a missing person search.
One dog works for cooked chicken livers, another works for peanut butter, while another works for some play time with a tennis ball.
A bargain, indeed, the dogs' handlers don't ask for much, either, besides a heads-up phone call when they're needed. Their payment comes from the simple joy of helping people in need, side-by side, with a man's, or woman's, best friend.
On Saturday, the all-volunteer South Carolina Search and Rescue Dog Association set up shop at the Goucher-White Plains Volunteer Fire Department for weekend practice and search-and-rescue dog certification exams.
In the Goucher community, the group found not only a willing host in the fire department but ample terrain on which to let the dogs and dog handlers hone their skills.
Journey, a German Shepherd trained and handled by SCSARDA member Katherine Ulrich, waits patiently for her turn to put her keen nose to work.
Goucher-White Plains Fire Chief Jimmy Lamb said he was well acquainted with the group from his work with Emergency Services in Spartanburg County and the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office. When the group sought a location to practice in Cherokee County, which was seen as a good geographic fit for the wide-spread team members, Lamb didn't hesitate in offering the use of his fire station, which is surrounded by woods and fields that are readily available.
Based in the Upstate, volunteers with the rescue dog association come from all walks of life and a wide geographic area.
Members live from Greenville to Fort Mill, and Columbia to Gastonia, N.C. They have jobs ranging from corporate tax accountant and registered nurse to an instructor at the Michelin Tire Company. One member is a former zookeeper who also trains helper dogs for the physically disabled and autistic children.
Search and rescue dog handler Misha Marshall has a little fun with her dog, Gandalf, a friendly Shiloh Shepherd, before the serious business of training begins.
Whatever their professional background, however, all team members share something in common.
Association treasurer Misha Marshall said they all love dogs, the outdoors, and they all want to help.
Founded in 2001, the nonprofit organization has 15 members who handle their own dog. On Saturday, two dogs were undergoing operational tests, one in area searches and one in trailing.
To assist the dog handlers, Goucher White- Plains Junior Firefighter Donnie Turner headed out into the woods at about 8 a.m. Saturday to serve as the search and rescue dogs' test target. He waited patiently for several hours until the first dog was sent out to look for him.
Misha Marshall helps get the search and rescue team's mobile command trailer ready on Saturday. Besides the comforts of home, such as a coffee pot, the trailer houses high tech gear such as computers to track the search dogs in the field.
Almost all of the dogs in the group are working breeds with really good noses, among them German shepherds, Golden retrievers and one massive Shilo Shepherd. But pure breeds are not required, as team members said mutts with good noses will do nicely.
Training each dog and getting him or her certified in the fields of trailing, area search or finding human remains can take years and all of the dogs brought to Cherokee County on Saturday had at least two to three years of training on average.
"Training never stops," noted Katherine Ulrich of Gastonia, N.C., the handler of a five-yearold German Shepherd named Journey.
It also takes "patience," said dog handler Mark Sutton from Greenville based Foothills Search and Rescue, who came out Saturday to help evaluate some of the South Carolina Search and Rescue Dog Association's dogs.
While a dog's keen nose is a remarkably low-tech but amazing tool, the search and rescue association doesn't go into the field without modern technology.
Each dog sent into the field is fitted with a special collar equipped with global positioning satellite technology. The team's mobile command trailer is filled with computer equipment that allows them to place topographic maps on monitors and see, almost real-time, where each dog is located.
Such technology allows the group to not only see which areas the dogs have already searched, but also where search efforts can be redirected.
Since the nonprofit group isn't government funded, such technology is only possible through generosity. A grant from the American Kennel Club helped pay for the special dog collars.
The group plans to train in Cherokee County every month to six weeks and Lamb said they're welcome at his fire station as long as they want to use it. He sees their presence as beneficial to firefighters.
"We need to work with them to learn what to do before they get to a scene so we don't interfere with their (search) operations," he said.
For instance, the dog handlers asked that firefighters shut down their trucks whenever they're at a search site since vehicle fumes, especially diesel fumes, can throw off the scent.
Lamb hopes other local agencies will become more aware of the free services the Search and Rescue Dog Association has to offer as well. "It's a free resource to us," he said.
Misha Marshall, treasurer of the group and handler of a Shilo Shepherd named Gandalf, said the group normally operates in the Upstate but has been called into North Carolina and Georgia.
Even if police or firefighters don't think they'll need the group to help conduct a search, the group's president, Maria Claxton, and team member, Chuck Marshall, a retired professional fireman, said it's helpful if the team is alerted because it might take several hours for team members to gear up and travel.
While the dogs can certainly be brought out at a later time, Claxton said, “The dogs will be more effective sooner than later.”
South Carolina Search and Rescue Dog Association Hosts Nationally Known Instructors, 28 Dog Teams For Advanced Search Workshop
South Carolina Search & Rescue Dog Association Hosts Nationally Known Instructors and 28 Teams For Advanced Search Dog Training Workshop
April 17, 2009 The South Carolina Search & Rescue Dog
Association is hosting a week-long Advanced Search Dog
training workshop in Spartanburg, April 27 through May 1,
with internationally-respected experts in search dog
training Andy Rebmann and Marcia Koenig. The event is opened
to registered dog teams from around the U.S. SCSARDA is also
hosting law enforcement personnel and news media at two
separate live demonstrations during the week of training.
The events will include field action, as well as question
and answer and interview opportunities.
Search and rescue dogs work behind scenes to find the missing
By Jay King
HOMETOWN NEWS
When most people think of service dogs, they tend to either think of guide dogs
who help the blind or police canines who search for drugs or fugitives, but
there is another class of service dogs who perform an equally vital role but who
generally remain in the background.
It will likely come as a surprise to area residents that the home of the South
Carolina Search and rescue Dog Association (SCSARDA) is based right here in
Spartanburg County, and for the past week the association has played host to an
advanced training seminar that drew teams from all over the country.
Dogs Training To Find Drowning Victims - Take a look as search and rescue volunteers train for water searches.
Greenville News Interview - Patrick Cheatham and Maria Horn speak about SCSARDA and rescue dogs