RESCUE DOG IS YOUR FRIEND

In New York, on Manhattan, there is a monument bearing, among others, these three names: Sirius, Apollo and Bravo. Constellations, successful missions? No. These are the names of three heroes, who selflessly gave their lives for a number of human lives after the disastrous terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. These are the names of three rescue dogs, without which there would be many more casualties and many more unhappy children who lost their parents in the tragic event…
The present-day advanced technology is very impressive, offering various devices and inventions and helping people to find victims of natural and manmade disasters. However, despite its numerous qualities, such sophisticated technology proves to be insufficient under certain circumstances: it is not efficient enough, often not quick enough either, especially when it comes to tiny sections of time the human life depends on. Accidentally, as it sometimes happens with such self-limited technology, the most efficient solution we think least of is at hand: the dogs' senses – smell, hearing and sight. A dog can hear sounds from far away, a lot farther than we can (what we auditorily perceive from a 5-metre distance can be perceived by a dog from 25 metres or more). Furthermore, dogs have heightened peripheral vision, and excellent night vision as well. Smell is a dog's most highly developed sense: the lining of the inside of a dog's nose is so much larger than human – the dog has 200 million receptors, while humans only have five million.
Such so-called 'smell intelligence' and other qualities make dogs ideal and indispensable in all rescue operations, in any place and under most difficult conditions. In developed countries worldwide, the dogs' sense of smell has been used in the rescue service for quite a long time, and the monuments such as the one mentioned above, commemorating the four-legged heroes who saved human lives under most extreme conditions, are not rare. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that rescuing humans is the last thing those courageous dogs do in their much too short lives.
The way to the 'profession' of a search and rescue dog is not an easy job, for both handler and his/her dog. The dog must pass advanced obedience classes and SAR exams in the mountains, on the ruins and on the snow (avalanche rescue). As for dog handlers, since such rescue operations do not include only specific knowledge about dogs, they must be physically fit and able to respond to emergencies in the woods and mountains, on the ruins and on the snow. Furthermore, they must become proficient in first-aid (for both humans and dogs), radio communications, navigation, map and compass, even in some basic alpinist techniques and wilderness survival. The training of SAR dogs is equally demanding for a dog as it is for its handler. The training is also expensive, however one should bear in mind that such a well trained 'team' composed of a dog and a handler can substitute as many as 30 rescue workers in an operation!
What makes search and rescue dog trainings so expensive? There are many reasons… In the first place, the dog is not the only one to be trained; one should also train the handler. This requires a lot of equipment, for mountain climbing (used also in rescue operations), radio communications, adequate clothing and footwear (especially for snow). The future search and rescue dogs in training undergo extraordinary socialisation and training classes in all weather and environment conditions. This part of training is actually the most expensive one, as it often includes training grounds and areas simulating ruins and other environment.
In a 'profession' in which human lives are the issue, one should continuously improve the specialist knowledge and exchange experience with others. That is usually done in seminars and so-called camps (held in the country but mostly abroad), where special exercises for further improvement of both handlers and dogs are provided. One should also have some basic equipment for such training: from food and dog toys to tents etc.
Today, the only institution with certified SAR dogs in Croatia is the Sporting and Working Dog Training Club 'Zagreb' (KOSSP Zagreb). However, despite all technical difficulties, the number of such SAR dogs is on the increase. Further training of new SAR dogs and handlers is based exclusively on great enthusiasm and love of a couple of individuals. The SAR dog training group faces a number of problems, one of the most crucial being the lack of 'new' ruins needed for regular training. Training sessions are often organised in Brestovac on Sljeme, on the ruins of a former sanatorium for lung-diseased. However, the functionality of such constant trainings on one and the same location is rather questionable, as rescue dogs in training need to be exposed to various new situations, new and unknown scents… In order to train future SAR dogs on the snow (avalanches) one should make quite a long trip in winter road conditions. Our SAR dog training group has developed a fine cooperation with the neighbouring country Slovenia and organises such winter trainings there, which often means considerable travel expenses.
Despite all those problems and the lack of funds, our SAR training team achieves excellent results at competitions and exams in neighbouring countries. Recently we have started to cooperate with the Mountain Rescue Service of Zagreb. It is merely a beginning of cooperation because further activities require additional funds…
People often ask why dogs do all that, whey they make such an effort, how we get them at all to search selflessly for the missing in the sunshine or through the heaps of snow and to give loud bark alerts signalising that the 'mission' is successfully completed. There is a simple answer, which sometimes seems rather unbelievable: our dogs can't wait to play after their successfully completed task or are just eager to get their reward, a small piece of food, some small treat showing affection and saying 'a good dog'. The dog's heart is loving and simple; it does not ask for big or undeserved rewards. It only needs love and affirmation after a well-done job. With a well-trained handler, any SAR dog is courageous enough to take the biggest risk in order to save someone's life. That's the essence of search and rescue dogs, performing the noblest task a living being can do: to save lives. The biggest reward is life. Sometimes the search results bring sorrow (finding casualties) but they still ease the pain in the long run, as the worst thing for the families of the victims is to know nothing.
So if you ever see a dog dressed in an identification vest (with a cross and marked as 'Rescue Dog'), do remember enormous zest and vigour the dog brings into that noble task. Do remember a terrible fear the dog's handler feels whenever he or she sends his/her dog into a huge mass of snow on the mountainside or into the ruins full of visible and invisible dangers, into the debris which could put an end to the dog's life in a moment. Remember that the heart beating in the dog's body is that of Goliath. Remember that the heroes are sometimes furry and four-legged, and speak a different language…
And if it should unfortunately happen that you get lost in the woods and desperately lie on the ground trying to get some sleep, do not be afraid of a sudden and loud barking and a pair of affectionate and smart eyes staring at you – feel yourself lucky, you've just been rescued.

Translated by Dubravka Hrastovec