Earthquake Rescue Dogs Save Lives in Turkey, Syria
Photo by Getty Images.
Earthquake rescue dogs from around the world have arrived in Turkey and Syria to help find people who were trapped by the disastrous magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit on Feb. 6. Search and rescue teams came from many countries - including the U.S., Mexico, Switzerland, Germany, Britain, Pakistan, South Korea, India, Taiwan, Greece, Libya, Poland, and Croatia. Brave human and canine teams from around the world have been working around the clock to find people in the aftermath of the quake.
Nearly 100 Los Angeles County firefighters and engineers were sent to Turkey, along with six trained earthquake rescue dogs. The Virginia Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue team also sent six trained dogs to help with rescue efforts. Mexico, which has a history of earthquakes and highly trained dogs to assist in rescue work, also sent its top search and rescue dogs to Turkey. The specially trained search and rescue canines are able to sniff and locate people trapped beneath the rubble in earthquake zones, saving lives.
Earthquake Rescue Dogs Save Lives
In Southern California, former rescue dogs are now saving lives on search and rescue teams. The dogs accompanying the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Urban Search and Rescue team were all trained at the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) in Santa Paula. These high-energy rescue pups have gone through a year or more of training to prepare to locate people trapped in earthquake and disaster zones. The pups search scents in the air to follow and find humans in need of assistance.
The Search Dog Foundation has 145 acres of disaster scenarios in Santa Paula, including rubble similar to that from an earthquake. Many of the rescue pups were too energetic to be adopted as pets but are now heroes serving as earthquake rescue dogs deployed in Turkey.
Search and rescue canines are often used in vulnerable areas where the use of heavy machinery could cause more rubble and collapses, endangering the lives of survivors. Once they identify a scent, search and rescue dogs will alert their handlers by scratching the ground where the smell is strongest. Although most earthquake rescue dogs are trained to sniff out and alert people when they find a human that is dead or alive, rescuers have hopes of finding people who are still alive and able to be rescued from beneath the rubble.
Search and rescue dogs must go through rigorous training to prepare for missions. Photo by Unsplash.
Frida the Life-Saving Rescue Dog and the Mexican Team
Mexico has highly trained earthquake rescue canines that saved lives after the county’s 2017 Puebla earthquake. A yellow Labrador Retriever named Frida became an international hero when she was seen in her goggles and protective boots working to find people in the rubble in 2017. During her lifetime as a search and rescue dog, Frida saved 12 lives and located 40 bodies in rescue operations across Mexico, Haiti, Guatemala, and Ecuador, according to the Mexican Navy.
Although Frida passed away from old age last year, at least one of her fellow earthquake rescue dogs who helped at the 2017 Mexico quake is now assisting in Turkey. Ecko the Belgian Malinois is a veteran rescue dog who worked alongside Frida in the 2017 Puebla quake. Orly and Balam, two border collies who work with the Mexican Red Cross, are also part of the Mexican search and rescue teams helping find people in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
At least 16 Mexican search and rescue canines are now deployed in Turkey, according to Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary.
International Rescue Dogs Coming Together
Many countries have sent search and rescue teams to assist in Turkey and Syria after the earthquake that killed thousands. A team from the group International Search and Rescue Germany, including seven earthquake rescue dogs, and the rescue dog service REDOG from Switzerland, have sent 22 rescuers with 14 dogs to help in Turkey.
Training Search and Rescue Dogs
Border collies are often used in search and rescue work. Photo by Unsplash.
Earthquake rescue dogs are special pups with certain traits that make them excel at rescue work. Some requirements include having an excellent sense of smell, agility, confidence, focus, and a high level of trainability. Rescue dogs must also have a high amount of energy and stamina to brave inclement weather and hazardous work conditions when searching for people.
During rescue work at the scene of earthquakes, there can be dangerous earthquake aftershocks and buildings that may collapse at any moment. Dogs and their human handlers must have a lot of endurance and perseverance to work through these conditions.
According to the Search and Rescue Dog Foundation in California, they train their dogs to find live humans, which gives priority to rescue efforts to save people. These rescue dogs are known as "live find" canines. Some other search dogs are taught to find humans in any state, even if they are deceased. Rescue dogs can find people still alive in the rubble even days after a quake.
The dogs helping to find people in Turkey have many different backgrounds, with some of them being rescue dogs. The most common dog breeds for search and rescue work include Belgian Malinois, Labrador Retrievers, Border Collies, German Shepherds, and mixed breed dogs. Above all, the key qualities of search and rescue dogs are having the personality and willingness to work and assist people and the ability to adapt to challenging environments.
These brave pups continue to inspire the world as they work around the clock to help save people in the wake of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters.
Resources
The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation in Santa Paula, California, rescues and recruits dogs and partners them with firefighters and other first responders to find people buried alive in the wake of disasters.
Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States has resources for adopting and training search and rescue dogs.
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