After rescue teams found Shaun Green, the Loveland hiker who got lost near Lyons last week, his family asked that the dog that found him be given “a big hug.” The request was spot-on: Without the search dog, a yellow Labrador named Chamonix, rescuers might not have found Green in time. And more than treats, search dogs crave human affection.
Chamonix was a team player. It was the decision of her owner, 26-year-old Justin McLean of Boulder, to train his pet to save lives. Like most Colorado search and rescue teams (including all-human teams), McLean and his comrades are volunteers who rely on donations and their own contributions to cover costs.
There are three statewide, certified volunteer search and rescue dog groups: Boulder Front Range Rescue Dogs (including Chamonix and McLean); Search and Rescue Dogs of Colorado; and K-9 Search and Rescue Team. A fourth, Necro Search, specializes in helping police find corpses and body parts. Together, they field about three dozen dog and handler teams. Most conduct wilderness searches, but some specialize in avalanches, disasters and finding bodies underwater. They assist federal agencies, police and sheriff’s departments, Civil Air Patrol and other rescue efforts.
It’s hard work. Human handlers (usually the dogs’ owners) must train their animals by investing about 1,000 hours of their own time, including a few hours every day and every weekend for a year. The handlers must know first aid, CPR, wilderness navigation, wilderness survival, avalanche and water safety, proper use of radios and some technical skills such as how to rappel from helicopters. They also must be in top physical shape.
Dogs naturally have a keen sense of smell – they can find an individual scent days after the person has left the area – but they must be taught to use it in specific ways. While most dogs can follow a scent on the ground or through the air, search dogs usually specialize in one or the other. For example, Chamonix sniffs the air to detect human scent.
A dog’s 600 hours of strenuous training includes agility tests, swift responses to commands and the ability to ignore distractions (such as squirrels). They must not fear loud noises (they often ride in helicopters) and get along well with humans they don’t know (search dogs travel in vans with a dozen or more human rescuers). They must endure hot and cold weather and run long distances over boulders or snow. Sadly, some get injured in real-life missions.
There’s a debate about which breeds make good searchers. The K-9 team uses German shepherds, but other groups have retrievers, Labs and mutts. Mid-sized is best: Great Danes don’t fit well in helicopters and Chihuahuas vanish amid boulders. All must be very loyal to people.
The animals are amazing – but so are their humans.
