A search-and-rescue dog is one trained to find
missing people
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown.
A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, de ...
after a
natural
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
or
man-made disaster
Anthropogenic hazards are hazards caused by human action or inaction. They are contrasted with natural hazards. Anthropogenic hazards may adversely affect humans, other organisms, biomes, and ecosystems. They can even cause an omnicide. The fre ...
. The dogs detect human
scent
An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sense ...
and have been known to find people under water, under snow, and under collapsed buildings.
Applications
A dog with aptitude for finding dead bodies or body parts, whether buried, hidden or submerged, may be called a "cadaver dog".
In Croatia such dogs have been used to find burial sites almost 3000 years old. Police, death investigators and anthropologists may work closely with cadaver dogs and their handlers.
Training
![Rescue dog](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Rescue_dog.jpg)
Training of a search dog is usually begun when the dog is still a puppy.
Organizations
Numerous countries, cities and regions have search and rescue organizations using dog-and-handler teams that can be mobilized in an emergency or disaster. Here are a few organizations.
*
International Rescue Dog Organisation (IRO) is the worldwide umbrella organisation for training and testing of search and rescue dog work. IRO partners with
International Search and Rescue Advisory Group
The International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) is a network of disaster-prone and disaster-responding countries and organizations dedicated to urban search and rescue (USAR) and operational field coordination. It aims to establish s ...
and
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
for coordinating disaster relief missions worldwide.
*
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force
Members of FEMA US&R Task Force at World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks.
A FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (US&R Task Force) is a team of individuals specializing in urban search and rescue, disaster recovery, and emergency triage a ...
,
US teams of dogs and handlers which are deployed to emergency and disaster sites within hours.
*
Emergency Response Team Search and Rescue respond to emergencies and disasters in
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
*
Special Tasks and Rescue Dog Operations Unit supports the
South Australia Police
South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports to the Minister for ...
with tracking, searching, and finding lost persons.
* Alabama Search and Rescue supports public safety agencies in Alabama with tracking, searching, and finding lost persons using scent discrimination trailing Bloodhounds. www.ALSAR.gov
Notable dogs
*
Beauty
Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...
, a
Wirehaired Terrier, was a search and rescue dog during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
*
Jake
Jake may refer to:
Name
* Jake (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Katrin Jäke (born c. 1975), German swimmer
* Jake (gamer), American ''Overwatch'' player and coach
Animals
* Jake (rescue dog), a ...
, a
Labrador Retriever, was a search and rescue dog that worked the disasters of the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
(2001) and
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
(2005).
*
Orion, a
Rottweiler
The Rottweiler (, ) is a breed of domestic dog, regarded as medium-to-large or large. The dogs were known in German as , meaning Rottweil butchers' dogs, because their main use was to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered mea ...
, helped save the lives of at least 37 people in 1999 from drowning during
flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela.
*
Rex, entered burning buildings to find trapped people during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
*
Mancs, a German Shepherd trained to find people buried by earthquakes.
See also
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References
External links
{{Authority control
Working dogs
Detection dogs
Rescue
Dogs in warfare