Ever wondered how those amazing search dogs are able to locate victims (live or dead) that are lost or missing? Even more incredibly, did you know that with training many of these same dogs can very closely locate these same victims when they are underwater? This is one additional asset available to assist Water Rescue Teams with rescue and recovery of drowning victims, but it requires training and close interaction on both the part of the dog team (handler and dog) and the water rescue team. Recently, LVRS’ Water Rescue Team held another of its ongoing training sessions with Mid-Atlantic Search Dogs, an area volunteer organization that provides dog teams for land and water searches. The training provided the opportunity for both organizations to get familiar with each other and how they work, and LVRS divers assisted in further training of the dogs by acting as surrogate “victims” by deploying divers for the dogs to locate.
Since each search type is highly specialized, dogs that are already trained as land-based search dogs require additional specialized training to be able to work similarly on the water. Trained dogs actually are able to smell and locate victims underwater by roaming along the search area at the front of small boats, continually smelling for gases and scents that come off humans. These smells, while not perceptible to the human nose, float up in the water and generally stay in very close proximity to the victim.
Since the three dogs being trained on this day were relatively new to working on water, training consisted first on getting the dogs accustomed to and comfortable with working from a boat. Dog Teams worked with water Rescue Team boat handlers to both become more familiar with the requirements to make this work. Following that, Water Rescue Team divers were deployed offshore to allow dogs to get a scent and locate a victim.
This ongoing training (additional sessions are already scheduled for the next two months) is beneficial for both organizations. The training allows both teams to better understand each others capabilities and operational methods, and the search dog teams can be a very effective tool to allow us to more rapidly locate victims in water emergencies.
 
 
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