Search and rescue dogs
serve on the frontlines
locating people missing
after natural disasters,
lost children,
injured hikers and others,
being ready
at a moment’s notice to
bravely endure the elements
and save lives.
Supreme Master Ching Hai,
world renowned
humanitarian, artist
and spiritual teacher,
speaks of her admiration
and concern
for these devoted canines.
And I saw many dogs,
you know, they used
for rescue mission.
Oh, they just walk in
like nothing, but
I feel so bad about them.
The dogs walk in
the sharp, broken glasses
or anything like that.
Even chemical leaking
or anything, or germs
or danger.
And these are
precious dogs.
They have been trained
for years.
And they even
lay down their life
for anyone at command.
You have to
protect that dog.
To show Her loving
support for search dogs
and their human partners,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
has generously
contributed more than
US$100,000 to
search-and-rescue teams
in 21 countries, including
Australia, Belgium,
Canada, Chile, China,
the Czech Republic,
Ecuador, France, Iran,
South Korea, Malaysia,
Nepal, New Zealand,
Panama, the Philippines,
Singapore, Slovenia,
Spain, the Netherlands,
the UK and the USA.
Today’s program features
two of these
courageous teams,
namely the Ottawa
Valley Search and
Rescue Dog Association
(OVSARDA) in Canada,
and K-SAR Chile in Chile.
Let's first visit Ottawa,
Canada, and meet
the Team Administrative
Officer and Senior Handler,
Randy Kerr, who gives
a brief introduction to his
non-profit organization.
We are all volunteers.
Our dogs are our pets.
They live with us.
We train weekly
up to 10 hours.
We meet every two weeks
in a team training format
to carry on our goal of
training our dogs
to meet OPP (Ontario
Provincial Police)
canine testing (standards)
in Gravenhurst (Ontario).
To be a member of the team,
a dog must embark
on a comprehensive
training program, lasting
as long as three years.
After completion,
she is eligible to take
a test at
the Ontario Provincial
Police K-9 Academy.
If she passes, she will
become a certified
search and rescue dog.
The training involves
intensive teamwork.
We work as a group,
supporting each other.
I could never have achieved
what I have achieved
with my dog if it weren't
for the rest of the people
on my team, encouraging me,
and hiding and setting up
tracks for me to train.
I feel very privileged
to be part of this team.
And, through my dog,
I have met some very,
very unique people and
appreciate all that
they have done for me,
within the team.
We now meet some
of the delightful
and dedicated dogs
from the Ottawa Valley
Search and Rescue
Dog Association.
Okay, her name is Flossy
and she's a Vizsla
She's a very good friend.
She travels everywhere
with me.
If I'm going to the store,
she'll come with me or
she's just my companion.
Our dogs really
are service dogs/pets
that sleep on the end
of our beds or,
go to the cottage with us
or are there with us
at most times.
After a hard day of training,
Mr. Kerr sometimes
gives Flossy one
of her favorite treats,
chunks of fresh,
sweet cantaloupe.
Let’s now meet Stanley.
Danielle, could you tell us
the name of your dog?
Hi, my dog is Stanley.
He's a nine month old
German Shepherd.
And he's got a lot of spunk;
he really loves to work.
He loves doing this so
much that it's a hard time
holding him back
when I get started.
He's also really snuggly
and a really good pet.
I love to have him.
Pauline, could you tell us
the name of your dog and
describe his character?
Quinn is a one year old
German Shepherd and
he's always ready to work.
As soon as he has any
idea that I'm going out,
he'll follow me
all over the house.
So we get into the truck
and as soon as we get here,
he's revving to go.
But luckily at the moment,
he's snoozing.
So he's a lot fun.
Team members now
demonstrate how
a search and rescue dog
can quickly and efficiently
conduct a search
for someone who is lost.
So we have Flossy ready
to go find somebody lost
in the forest. She's been
sent out to search.
She's found the person
and she will run back and
let her caretaker know.
Her bark is the alert
to say that
she's found somebody.
Okay, now she's going to
show where the person is.
Sometimes the person
is far away,
so the dog needs to come
back and forth and
let the handler know,
because the dogs are
a lot faster than the person.
Members were delighted
when presented with
a contribution of
US$1,000 from
Supreme Master Ching Hai
for the care of their
canine teammates along
with her international
#1 bestselling book,
“The Noble Wilds.”
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
And also, we would like you
to enjoy a book from
Supreme Master Ching Hai
called,
“The Noble Wilds.”
Since you're very often
in the wild to do your work,
you will appreciate
the depth of what
is written in the book.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Kerr has been
concerned about
his canine companion,
Flossy, because she often
gets cold when working
outside in the deep snow.
He plans to use some
of the funds to buy her
a warm winter jacket and
has this heartfelt message
for Supreme Master
Ching Hai.
Thank you very much
for your donation
and we will use it
toward the betterment,
and comfort for our dogs.
When we return, we will
travel to Santiago, Chile,
to visit with members
of K-SAR Chile.
Please stay tuned to
Supreme Master Television.
Welcome back to
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants
and our program
featuring two search
and rescue dog teams
from the Americas.
In the magnificent
surroundings of Chile,
we meet another devoted
group of canines
and their caregivers
from K-SAR Chile.
Freddy Reyes is
the president of
this all-volunteer
non-profit organization.
Through our
canine companions,
we can in some way
relieve the suffering,
with the capacity to
provide a quick response,
and using this resource
we can save a life.
Gerardo Donoso,
vice president of
K-SAR Chile and in
charge of canine training,
now explains why
he and others volunteer
to perform search
and rescue work.
The truth is all
the members of this group
personally feel the need
of helping others,
to assist our compatriots
and the rest of humanity,
to aid them in emergencies.
We have people in our
group that have worked
with other organizations
related to emergency relief,
who have come here
because it combines
the desire of helping others,
with the love for nature,
and also combines
the love for the job that
we do with
our canine teammates.
At the end, this union
of things led people to
take part in this activity
and to make us capable
of improving what we do;
to fulfill our goals of
training, and most important,
the operation,
the emergency rescue work.
Search and rescue work
is not limited to select
breeds of dogs.
In fact,
a wide range of breeds
can be trained for the task.
Auka for example,
is a mutt, a mix of
German Shepherd
and Belgian Shepherd.
We have chosen and
kept this girl for this job.
At present, we have dogs
from different breeds
that we use, but we also
have gotten dogs that
we rescued. For example,
Kika, whom we will see
next, is a dog we rescued
from the street one day
when we were in a meeting.
She came to us when
she was three months old.
This is Kika, a dog whom,
as I said, we rescued
when she was
three months old,
and she was a very
undernourished canine
with many medical problems.
She has been through
all kinds of treatments
to recover.
Soon after that,
she started her training.
Today Kika
is seven years old,
she lives with us
and she has passed
all the training required
as a rescue dog. She has
been involved in the vast
majority of emergencies
that we have been
involved in.
Already there have been
twenty-three emergencies
in which
we have been involved.
This dog is a dog with
lots of experience regarding
searching for people.
Working for a canine search
and rescue organization
provides a caregiver
the opportunity to forge
a very close relationship
with their dog companion.
People who have got
dogs at home take care
of them and treat them
as part of their families.
Apart from being
members of our families,
living and sharing
with them day to day,
we work with them.
When we are training
in the mountains
and we are on a search,
I believe that if
you have experienced it,
there is nothing
as strong as a bond
between a rescue animal
and his guide searching
for a person in a mountain.
I believe that when
your dog is searching,
one becomes 100%
part of that dog.
There have been cases
in the past when I even
recognized how a dog
moves his tail,
how he sniffs, to the point
that I can sense how is he
feeling and what is he doing.
Many times we have been
asked for example,
if we could train a dog
and then give him back
to his caregiver.
I say “no” because we
do not refer to it
as a dog and his guide.
We refer to them as a pair.
The two are volunteers
and when we find
a good pair, deep down
they are one only.
We are one; our canine
buddy and his guide are
only searching as one.
The members of
K-SAR Chile
were deeply touched by
Supreme Master Ching Hai's
kind contribution
of US$1,000 for care of
their canine teammates.
Well, firstly,
I would like to thank you
on behalf of my team,
“K-SAR” from Chile,
a group that works
with a lot of sacrifice.
We didn’t even know
the people but they came
to us with this donation
and only with
the intention to help us
and to help humanity.
Your work is noble
and very beautiful
and from this viewpoint,
I think our organizations
are related, because we
have a common purpose
and a common direction,
and the direction comes
from a spiritual aspect
which is what we do.
So congratulations
for what you do,
because it is noble work,
and it is really admirable
to see that there are
people who care so much
about what is happening
with the planet.
May the Providence
bless the heroic
and dedicated canines
and their compassionate
caregivers from
the Ottawa Valley Search
and Rescue Dog
Association and K-SAR
Chile, and similar groups
all over the world
who selflessly devote
their time and energy
to protect and
save the lives of others.
Their love and dedication
is an inspiration to all.
For more details please visit:
Ottawa Valley
Search and Rescue
Dog Association
K-SAR Chile
Thank you for joining us
on Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Coming up next is
Enlightening Entertainment,
following
Noteworthy News,
here on
Supreme Master Television.
May you be blessed
with wisdom, abundance,
and joy.
Shark finning,
where fins are cut from
a shark’s body and
the shark is thrown back
into the ocean
to bleed to death,
is a brutal and vicious
practice that is one of
the main reasons there is
an alarming decline
in shark populations
globally.
When we look at the sea,
we don't see
the destruction
happening underneath.
We don't see that we are
turning it into a desert,
day after day after day.
Learn what we all can do
to protect these
animal co-inhabitants
on “Depths of Despair:
The Callous Crime
of Shark Finning”
this Tuesday, March 9,
on Stop Animal Cruelty.