How Has the Use of Dogs in Search & Rescue Changed in the Past 100 Years?

Search and rescue dogs are vital in the recovery of hurt or lost people, but their talents don't happen by accident. These dogs and their handlers spend months or sometimes years training to pick up the scent of a specific person or an injured person hidden from view. The idea of using dogs for search and rescue began centuries ago, but the system has been fine-tuned into an art.

  1. First Recorded Rescue Dogs

    • The first record of search and rescue dogs is from near the turn of the 11th century when St. Bernard of Menthon founded a monastery and hospice to help travelers through a dangerous Alps pass between Italy and Switzerland. There he raised a mastiff-style breed, now known as the Saint Bernard. These dogs were experts with direction and had excellent senses of smell. They were often sent out without handlers in teams of two or three to search for lost travelers. One dog would dig through the snow to the person and lay on top of him to keep him warm while the other dog ran back to the monastery to signal for human help. Over the next two centuries or so, Saint Bernards rescued thousands of travelers near the pass.

    Wartime

    • The work of Saint Bernards set the foundation for search and rescue, which isn't seen in reliable historical documents until the early 1900s, during World War I. For the first time, dogs were trained specifically to locate the scent of live humans buried in the rubble or debris left on the battlefield. When a fight ended, Red Cross handlers would take the dogs into the battle area so the dog could sniff for the scent of an injured person. During this time, the Swiss Army started cultivating dogs -- from the Alsatian breed instead of Saint Bernards this time -- to sniff out people caught in avalanches.

    Disasters

    • In the late 1900s, the role of search and rescue dogs expanded to include nearly all types of natural disasters. Handlers used a variety of breeds including Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and German shepherds to seek injured people around the globe. In the United States, search and rescue dogs have helped find the wounded in disasters such as hurricanes, bombings and earthquakes. According to the American Kennel Club, about 300 dogs worked the scene after the World Trade Center in New York City was attacked in 2001.

    Lost People

    • In addition to man-made and natural disasters, search and rescue dogs help find missing people. They search for victims and perpetrators in suspected abductions and homicides, as well as potential drowning victims who might still be alive clinging to branches in a river or along the banks of lakes. These dogs also help locate children who are lost, such as those who wander into the woods, as well as lost Alzheimer's patients.

    Training

    • Search and rescue dog teams have evolved into organized clubs and groups, most of which are volunteer. They undergo rigorous training, working at least twice a week for a year before being certified in search and rescue. In addition to training the dogs to focus on human scents, the trainers must learn how to navigate the outdoors, such as through the woods, and how to perform grid searches along with other search and rescue teams in disaster zones.