Holliday: Learning about the life of a K9 Search Unit Volunteer
Anne Shehab from the K9 Search Unit of the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance and Rescue Squad gave an informative and interesting presentation to the Kennett Community Coffee Klatch at the Kennett Library on Thursday, October 31, 2024.
Anne has been a K9 rescue handler for the past 10 years. She explained that there are two kinds of K9 Search Teams; FEMA K9 teams operate in disasters and are trained to find people in collapsed structures and other high-hazard situations. Wilderness search teams, such as the Lambertville team, which will search in most of the other environments, such as parks, shorelines and lakes, buildings, and mountain areas,
Anne's motivation to become involved with the K9 Search Unit is rooted in her childhood family life. She had an older sister, who was always running away. This brought much stress to the family and the relief when she was found was a reward she wanted to give to others. She said she also likes dogs and finds that she and the rescue dog develop a close bond in the process of working together.
To become a volunteer, candidates can apply to join a local Search and Rescue team; there are usually several teams in each state. You do not have to be a dog handler to participate. For example, team members can assist as ground support, help with search management, operate radios, perform as a provider of first aid, or flank the K9 team as a navigator. All these skills can be learned through the team.
K9 handlers usually find their partner dog from a breeder, an animal rescue, or from a training facility such as the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, a part of the University of Pennsylvania's Veterinary School of Medicine. Their dogs start their training at twelve weeks, first with basic obedience, agility training, and finally scent detection training. Each K9/handler team must pass rigorous state and national tests of their skills before they are deployed to find a missing person.
Most missing persons fall into one of several categories: the most common in this area are lost hikers or hunters. Search teams can also be called to search for autistic children, despondents, and people with impaired memory. This involves scanning wooded areas, streams and bodies of water along with the open fields, culverts, ditches, old buildings, etc. Autistic children are drawn to bodies of water, so this becomes first on the list to search.
The dogs use air scenting methods to locate the subject. These dogs detect any person in an area. Typically, air scent dogs can search an 80-acre area in 1-2 hours. Anne spoke about her first K9 Oscar, a Pitbull whose greatest joy was going on a scent search. She now has Alley, a labrador who is a happy camper to be out on a search. She said, "The dogs find this work satisfying, so we are helping the dogs while they are helping us. It is rigorous work, so the K9 is usually on duty no longer than two hours, then gets a break. They are pleasantly exhausted after a day of search."
The local, state or park police are usually the first to receive a call of a missing person and activate the K9 Search Unit. The Units within the region help each other and can be called to assist in a search at any time, day or night. She said there is an established structure of command and working together is very organized and practiced. Anne added that today's GPS mapping has been a real help to being organized and effective.
The K9 Unit members train as a team twice a month. Training includes drills for K9 search, land navigation, survival, radio communications, first aid, CPR and dog handling.
Anne agrees that this work needs to be a passion, as it involves much volunteer time and financial investment. At the same time, she tells the story of the satisfaction she felt when her K9 Oscar located a woman with Alzheimer's in a culvert under a road and returned her safely to her home.
Special Note: Anne's labrador rescue dog, Alley stayed in the car with especially installed fans running, while Anne was making the presentation. Alley received some special attention when the attendees went to meet her after the presentation.
