By Sonja Heritage
While therapy dogs have become a staple at some stations, FEMA Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) canines offer a vastly different skill set for first responders. We’re talking high-drive, super-athletic searching machines, trained to find either live or deceased humans in disaster environments.
Each of these FEMA-certified dogs has been carefully screened for key characteristics: independent hunt drive, strong toy possession, ability to hunt on rubble (agility), extreme focus and athleticism. In addition, they must pass an aggression test to ensure that they pose no threat to humans or other dogs.
| MORE: Why ‘therapy dog’ is the wrong term for critical incident response K-9s
Search training
It takes between six months and two years to train a canine candidate to certification, either with FEMA or the State Urban Search and Rescue Alliance (SUSAR). This time depends on the age that training was started — as a puppy or adolescent. They must re-certify every three years to be deployable.
All training is reward-based. The first step is linking the specific “odor” to the reward — this translates to the dog getting “paid” with their favorite toy or food every time they find that specific odor source. The dogs are taught that a loud, independent, focused bark alert is required before they get the reward.
They even search, find, stay and bark when the handler is out of sight. These dogs are working for what they want as well as what we need!
USAR canine expectations
While it may seem that any dog who loves a toy can do this, these highly specialized dogs must remain focused on searching for their odor for hours, days or weeks, sometimes amid loud equipment, workers and many other distractions. And they must be capable of searching any type of environment efficiently and effectively. This could be a disaster zone resulting from an earthquake, terrorist attack, explosion, building collapse, post-fire scene, flood, mudslide, hurricane, tornado, plane crash, boat accident — anywhere that needs to be searched.
Handler + canine partnerships
Each search dog has a handler, who has spent hundreds of hours training with their canine partner to certify and then continues to train after that to ensure that they are ready when the bell goes off. This ongoing training involves traveling all over the country.
Surprisingly, most (if not all) of this travel and training is done at the handler’s expense, along with food, medical, fuel, a vehicle, equipment and housing. Many of the dogs are purchased or by the handler, although some come from non-profits and rescues.
Work life and retirement
FEMA search dogs have a working life of five to seven years typically, depending on the age they were certified, genetics and health. Because of this, handlers must find and start training a replacement when their partner reaches 6-8 years of age to remain deployable, if they are planning on continuing in the program.
After retirement, each of these amazing canine partners enjoy life with their handlers and families!
Learn more about the FEMA USAR Response System Canine program.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sonja Heritage has over 25 years of training and handling FEMA Disaster Search Canines and has deployed to 30 major disasters around the world, including the U.S. Embassy bombing, Turkey and Taiwan earthquakes, Hurricane Katrina, the Pentagon, and the Haiti earthquake. Heritage was a canine search specialist with Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team, Virginia Task Force One for 16 years. In 2012, Heritage moved to the West Coast to be the Head Trainer for the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, designing their training program, training grounds and kennel. She is currently a handler for FEMA California Task Force 6 in Riverside, California, with her canine Mischa. Heritage is the owner of Heritage K9, offering professional dog training services specializing in detection, service dogs and problem behaviors.
