5 New Canine Disaster Search Teams Set to Serve the Bay Area
Since 1996, the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) has given shelter dogs the chance for a new “leash on life.” The non-profit trains dogs and their firefighter-partners to find people buried beneath the rubble of disasters. To date, SDF has trained 150 dogs and deployed to 107 local, national, and international disasters.
SDF first provided Canine Disaster Search Teams to the Bay Area in 2004. Those teams responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the tragic Mill Valley mudslide in 2006, Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008, and numerous local building collapses and missing person searches. In 2015, a new generation of dogs will be partnered with Bay Area firefighters (at no cost to their departments) to be sure there are enough paws on the ground when the next disaster strikes.
In 2013, Alex Mengell (a firefighter with Alameda County) and Gunner joined the Bay Area Search Team roster. Gunner is an energetic yellow Lab who was rescued by DAWG Rescue in Santa Barbara, now shares his home at the Mengell’s with Alex’s first Search Dog, Nelson, who retired after eight years of service.
“Gunner is a fantastic searcher – with both speed and drive,” says Alex. “He’s at the fire station with me, and everyone has been extremely supportive and helpful in introducing Gunner to his new workplace. I absolutely love his enthusiasm for the job!”
Eight months after being paired, Alex and Gunner achieved FEMA certification, which means they can be locally or nationally deployed to disaster locales.
Gunner makes it look easy, but it’s actually a real challenge to find canines with the extreme high energy, toy drive, tenacity, athleticism, and focus required in a Search Dog. SDF staff and volunteers comb shelters and breed rescues throughout the Western states looking for “diamonds in the ruff” – dogs that have everything it takes for the intricacies and rigors of disaster search.
Master Trainer Sonja Heritage, herself a 16-year veteran Search Dog handler and first responder, evaluates the candidates and determines if they have the characteristics needed. Once accepted into the program, the dogs travel to SDF’s new National Training Center in Santa Paula – 50 miles south of Santa Barbara. Their training starts with basic obedience, then they learn direction control so handlers can guide them to search specific areas off-leash during a real disaster. They also train in physical agility so they can easily navigate piles of debris. Most importantly, the dogs must master the “Bark Alert” – the signal that lets their handlers known they have detected the scent of a live human hidden from view.
The candidates complete training in about eight months and are then paired with firefighters-handlers who will be their partners for the rest of the life of the dog. This human-canine bond is the solid foundation for a successful career in which handler and search dog are together 24/7 – whether at home, at the fire station, in training or deployed to a disaster.
“Watching our trainers hand the leash to a new handler is one of the most exciting parts of our training program,” says Denise Sanders, SDF’s Program Development Manager. “That’s the moment the real journey begins. The two are no longer a dog and a handler, they are now a Search Team, working together to become deployment-ready and save lives. The stories I hear from our handlers – telling of the countless hours of training, the scrapes and bruises, the frustrations and triumphs – are a testament to the commitment they have made.”
The Bay Area’s Search Dog teams are trained and ready. “As we all know, there is a major earthquake anticipated in the San Francisco area in the near future,” says Jim Boggeri, handler of Search Dog Nino and a Marin County Fire Captain, “And when that hits, our first responders are going to need as many resources as possible to respond.”
He continues, “Our goal is to save as many lives as we can as quickly as possible, and having those dogs here, strategically positioned in the Bay Area [is crucial]…. As Canine Coordinator for California Task Force 4 based in Oakland, I am very much looking forward to adding more of these highly trained search dogs to our team roster so we are prepared for the next disaster.”
Visit SearchDogFoundation.org for more information.
Denise Sanders joined the SDF team in 2008, combining her degree in journalism and background in emergency services with her love of dogs. As Program Development and Communications Manager, Denise supervises the ongoing training of SDF’s Search Teams, oversees communications with the public and with the emergency response community about the work of the teams, and is developing training programs at SDF’s new National Training Center in Santa Paula, California.
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Main article photo by: Photo courtesy of SDF
