I promise to be worth every cent that it took to train me. I
promise to sniff you out if you are ever trapped under a ton of
rubble.
I promise to be worth every cent that it took to train me. I promise to sniff you out if you are ever trapped under a ton of rubble. I promise to go about my work with a wagging tail, even when my paws get tired and sore. I promise to ignore all other more fascinating smells and concentrate on the scent of live humans.
I promise to never give up.
This is The Pledge that a chocolate Labrador retriever named Lola lives out in her work as a search and rescue dog. Lola was trained in Gilroy by Kate Davern of the Sundowners Kennel, located on Honeycomb Lane just off Watsonville Road.
Davern, along with Lola and her handler, firefighter Johnny Subia, gave a presentation about their work at Mama Mia’s Restaurant in Gilroy Monday night at the invitation of the Gilroy Lions Club.
Lola is stationed with her handler at the Seaside Fire Station, but she can be called to any disaster nationwide. For the past 13 years, dogs trained in Gilroy have rescued people in disasters occurring in Florida, Ohio, New York, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
The majority of rescue dogs are labradors and border collies, but the Gilroy program was started with three Golden Retrievers from shelters – two of whom were due to be put to sleep.
“Many of the best Rescue dogs come from shelters,” Davern told the group. “High-drive dogs have intense energy that make them hard to manage as house pets, so they end up in shelters.”
If the intense drive of these dogs can be molded, they make the best search and rescue dogs, she said.
“Transforming rescued dogs into rescuers – it’s a big part of what we’re all about,” Davern said. “We go in and test prospective dogs in shelters, looking for those with drive, athleticism, boldness, and the focus to retrieve in spite of distractions.”
They also have to be agile enough to easily navigate through the rubble of earthquakes, mudslides, and bombings, she said. A special group of volunteers, called the Bark Force, learn how to identify which dogs will make the best rescuers.
“We do whatever we have to do,” Davern said. “Recently, our certified handler had to step over already euthanized dogs to reach the dog she had spotted at the shelter as one that should be trained to become a rescue dog. She literally found him just in time.”
These dogs thrive on being given a job to do, and doing training exercises, such as finding a special toy in a big pile of rubble at the San Martin Culvert Yard, becomes the highlight of their day. Ultimately, all they want in return for rescuing someone is a good game with their favorite toy. Yet, not all dogs can become search and rescue dogs – out of 200 tested, only 20 will qualify.
To train a rescue dog takes a huge investment of time and resources. The best food, care, and six months to a year of training to bring a dog up to certification level for national search and rescue work costs $10,000. As part of her final exam, Lola had to find six “victims” hidden in a 10,000 square foot rubble pile – with no false alerts.
“Lola and I are together 24-seven,” Subia said. “You form a really strong bond.”
One of the positives to come out of the 9/11 attack is that many more people are being saved by search dogs in disasters thanks to renewed support of rescue training at kennels like Sundowners.
Sundowners was on the brink of giving up its search dog training program due to lack of financial support. After people saw the search and rescue dogs navigating steel beams and girders, and combing through huge rubble piles at the World Trade Center, donations flooded in.
“Everything we do is made possible by donations,” Davern said. “Some people donate as little as $5, while others sponsor a dog at $10,000 – they get to name their own rescue dog. Every bit of it helps make possible what we do.”
There is currently a great need for funding to train additional disaster search dog teams. More than 400 teams are needed nationwide to adequately respond to disasters, and there is only half that number.
“What a dog can do is only limited by our imagination and their physical ability,” Davern said. “It’s amazing – to rescue a life, a game of tug-o-war is all the reward they ask.”
