What can K9’s Do for Search and Rescue?

K9’s are able to detect the scent of missing persons that have been left behind as they move about. This allows three types of K9’s to assist in locating missing persons.

Area Dogs Are able to detect any human in an area such as a building or a park. They usually aren’t scent specific though they can be, and determine where anybody may be hiding such as children, or persons with diminished mental capacity.

Trailing Dogs Are able to detect a specific human’s scent and follow the trail left behind by those missing persons who have walked somewhere and sometimes even driven somewhere. They can follow a scent that is several days old, or brand new and also determine directions the person was unlikely to travel.

Cadaver (HRD) Dogs are able to locate deceased persons and human remains that can be hidden, buried or in a number of other situations. These dogs are invaluable to recovery operations and disaster sites.