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 over
US$80,000 to
search-and-rescue teams
in 18 countries, including
Australia, Belgium,
Canada, Chile, China,
the Czech Republic,
Ecuador, France,
South Korea, Malaysia,
Nepal, New Zealand,
Panama, the Philippines,
Slovenia,
the Netherlands,
the UK and the USA.
Today’s program features
two of these
courageous groups:
the National Disaster
Search Dog Foundation
(Search Dog Foundation)
in Ojai, California, USA
and the Bay Area
Recovery Canines
(BARC) in Williamsburg,
Virginia, USA.
Founded in 1996, the
Search Dog Foundation
(SDF) is a non-profit
organization which
professionally trains
search and rescue
canines, and then places
them at fire departments
across the United States
at no cost.
One of the most unique
aspects of
this organization is where
the dogs come from.
Executive director
Debra Tosch now
gives us insight.
The mission of the
Search Dog Foundation
is to strengthen
the emergency response
in America.
And we do that
by rescuing dogs
from shelters and
breed rescue groups,
getting them trained
by a professional trainer
and then pairing them up
with firefighter partners.
And then we actually
train the firefighters to be
able to do disaster search.
The solid training
provided by the
Search Dog Foundation
make the firefighter and
canine teams ready for
deployment anywhere in
the US and even abroad.
We have had teams
respond to 9/11,
the World Trade Center,
we’ve had teams respond
to Hurricane Katrina,
Hurricane Rita, and
more recent hurricanes.
And I would say
the biggest challenge
was when we had teams
respond to Haiti, to the
earthquake over there.
While in Haiti,
the valiant search
and rescue dogs and
their human partners
located and saved
the lives of nine people
who were trapped
beneath massive mounds
of debris.
The first find was
locating three girls
buried in a four story
building.
They were literally
four stories down.
And the dog indicated
that there was somebody
in there.
And they do that
by barking.
They get the scent of
people that they can’t
see, and then they bark
until the partner
gets there.
And so, sure enough
as soon as the dog
alerted (everyone),
they started, working
around the building and
calling out and they
heard somebody answer.
And it took them
six hours, but they pulled
the three girls out.
In Haiti there was
another woman.
And she happened to be
taking a nap when
the earthquake happened.
And she was in the bed
face down.
And when it collapsed,
the ceiling was gently
(lying) on top of her.
And so she was pinned
for three days, when
they got to that area
to search.
And they were able to
locate her.
And they had to crawl
in spaces that were
only 18 inches.
She had no injures other
than being dehydrated,
but she couldn’t get out.
And had they not been
able to locate her, she
would have perished there.
When the Search Dog
Foundation looks for
a new dog candidate
to prepare for search and
rescue work, there are
several key qualities
he or she must possess.
The canine must be
emotionally stable,
sociable, unaffected by
other dogs and noises,
but also playful.
We’re looking for dogs
that have
very high energy.
Dogs that are obsessed
with toys,
any type of toys.
And then they have to be
in good physical shape
too.
But they’re running
up and down
these rubble piles, so we
have to make sure that
they’re very healthy.
We x-ray their hips
and their elbows to
make sure, because we
don’t want to cause pain
in the dog later on.
So we have to make sure
that they’re able
to do this.
Supreme Master Ching Hai
contributed US $1,000
to the Search Dog
Foundation to help them
buy additional
safety equipment
for the noble and
gallant canine rescuers.
Our local Association
members presented
the check to Debra Tosch
on Supreme Master
Ching Hai’s behalf.
Oh, well thank you
so much because,
I’ve been out there and
I can tell you first-hand
it truly does make
a difference.
So thank you so much
for helping us
meet our mission.
The Foundation was also
given a copy of
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s
#1 international bestseller
“The Dogs In My Life.”
The group later sent
a warm letter to
Supreme Master Ching Hai.
The following
is a brief excerpt:
We are humbled
by your confidence in our
work of rescuing dogs,
and saving lives …
We would like to
extend a wholehearted
WELCOME to you
as a new member
of the SDF family.
Thank you for being
Part of the Search!
Debra Tosch,
Executive Director
Abby,
Executive Search Dog
The Bay Area Recovery
Canines (BARC)
is a volunteer non-profit
organization which
provides free of charge
canine search and
rescue teams to assist
law enforcement officials
in finding missing
and lost persons.
We met BARC’s
president, Heather Roche,
a 20-year veteran of
search and rescue work,
and her partner, Red in
Williamsburg, Virginia.
We specialize in some
(of) the harder cases.
We get called in
by the National Center
for Missing and
Exploited Children.
So we actually travel
throughout the US
on missing person cases.
This is Red.
She’s actually 10 and half.
And if you can hear her,
she’s ready to go.
She thought we were
going to come out here
and start training
already.
So she was all excited.
She’s cross-trained.
She’ll find live people
as well as deceased
because we do a lot of
evidence searches.
And, missing people,
even cold cases,
20 years out.
But she’s also a
(Federal Emergency
Management Agency)
FEMA disaster dog.
So she’ll search
the rubble.
She was my youngest
(dog) at 9/11
(World Trade Center)
and worked
the (9/11) Pentagon.
And then she was
my primary (dog)
at (Hurricane) Katrina,
at Bay St. Louis,
Mississippi.
And she’s done things
like tornados, and other
small collapses as well.
So dedicated is Red
to her work, that she will
sacrifice her own safety
to protect or save
the lives of others.
She recently sustained
a serious injury
in a rescue mission.
A little over a month ago,
she was working
a three-story house that
had caught on fire
and unfortunately
the homeowner was
sleeping and was still
inside the rubble.
And she was trying to
get her way to
where he was located.
And there wasn’t much
left of the building.
And where she was,
started to collapse.
And so she had to
ride out the slide.
In that, she cut herself
on either a nail or sharp
metal, unfortunately,
all the way to her bone
and cut an artery.
But we were lucky.
We were there with
the fire department
and paramedics.
And the paramedics
took care of her,
wrapped her up and
actually the fire marshals
rushed her off to a vet
right away.
And she’s healed.
She’s totally fine.
They did a great job
sewing her up.
And even after
she got hurt, she still kept
on searching because
she just loves to do it.
We also met another
delightful team from
BARC: Cathy Dodgen
and her canine partner,
Rusty.
This is Rusty.
Rusty is a Border Collie
I got as a rescue
out of an abuse and
neglect case from
North Carolina (USA).
So I got him
at about six months old,
he’s seven now.
For six years
he’s worked finding
live people, and now I’m
training him to look for
human remains as well.
Throughout the years,
Ms. Dodgen has trained
several dogs.
All of my search dogs
actually came out of
rescue.
So I take the dogs;
I rehabilitate them
physically, mentally,
emotionally; and then,
a lot of dogs I pass on
to good homes.
And then, some dogs
they're really energetic,
and so they turn out to be
a really good candidate
to do search with.
On
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s
behalf, our local
Association members
presented BARC
with her donation of
US$1,000 for
the purchase of
safety equipment for the
group’s canine members.
Thank you so much
for this.
It helps us be able to
continue and not only
help the missing persons
(alright,
Red’s ready to go),
but it helps the family.
Ms. Roche was also
given a copy of
“The Dogs in My Life.”
Thank you, I can’t wait
to read it.
And (I) imagine
she (is) like us.
Our dogs are
our partners, and
they're our lives.
The Bay Area Recovery
Canines later sent
a thoughtful letter to
Supreme Master Ching Hai.
The following
is a brief excerpt:
Your generous gift will
allow us to insure that
each BARC dog will be
outfitted with an ice bed
for hot weather searches,
and a warming bed
for the cold ones.
In addition, each dog will
be fitted with a cooling
vest that will keep them
more comfortable
while working in heat
and humidity, and insure
that they will not be
in danger of heatstroke.
Once again, we send
our heartfelt thanks
for your generosity.
With Best Regards,
Cathy Dodgen, Secretary
Bay Area
Recovery Canines
Many thanks to all
the canine and
human members of the
Search Dog Foundation
and Bay Area Recovery
Canines
for your devotion to
saving and protecting
the lives of others.
You are truly
an inspiration
and a light to us all.
For more information
on the organizations
featured today,
please visit
the following websites:
Search Dog Foundation
www.SearchDogFoundation.org
Bay Area
Recovery Canines
www.BayAreaRecoveryCanines.com
Kind-hearted viewers,
thank you for joining us
today on Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Up next is Enlightening
Entertainment,
after Noteworthy News,
here on
Supreme Master Television.
May all be blessed with
long lives filled with
peace, joy, and dignity.