EMC068 About SAR Dogs
To:   Emergency Communications Units - Information Bulletin
To:   Emergency Management Agencies via Internet and Radio
By:   Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) of the
      California Governor's Office of Emergency Services
 
EMC068 - About SAR Dogs  - For Release 2-24-97
 
Search and Rescue (SAR)
Safety tips from the National Association for Search & Rescue:
 
- If someone you know is lost, call for help at once -- not as a
last resort. Contact the nearest forest ranger, police
department, sheriff's office, or other local authorities.
 
- Give authorities all the information you have - where the
person was last seen, the travel plans of that person, and what
clothing was worn. Provide any special tips, such as behavior
patterns, personal problems, and medical needs. The information
will remain confidential and may help locate the person.
 
- In case a SAR dog team is called in, make sure that NO ONE --
not even a police officer -- touches the lost person's clothing
or sleeping bag. Use a long stick to pick up the items and put
them into a CLEAN paper or plastic bag, one item to a bag. Keep
the bags cool. The items may be used as "scent guides" by the
dogs. If more than one person is lost, put scent guides for each
person in separate bags and label each with the persons name.
 
- Try to keep all people and motor vehicles away from the area
where the person was last seen. Too much activity can destroy
tracks, and exhaust fumes may impair the dog's ability to pick up
the person's trail.
 
- Due to a dog's ultra-sensitive hearing, night vision,
endurance, and keen sense of smell, they have a key role in SAR
efforts. It is up to the public agency to determine when to call
a SAR dog team. But it is up to you to provide scent guides and
other information.
 
- Trained SAR dogs use either air-scent or trailing to find
people. Trailing dogs search for a specific person by following
scent on the ground and surrounding vegetation. Air-scenting dogs
scan the air for ANY human scent, not just that of a particular
person.

NASAR web site:nasar.org            For publications contact the
NASAR Bookstore: 4500 Southgate Pl, Ste 100, Chantilly, VA 20151
1714. Ph one: 703-222-6277. Email: bookstore@nasar.org
 
ACS Web page: http://acs.oes.ca.gov or http://www.garlic.com/oes
FTP archive:  ftp.ucsd.edu/hamradio/packet/tcpip/incoming for
new bulletins and ftp.ucsd.edu/hamradio/races for earlier ones
OES ACS staff manager Stan Harter Email: stanharter@juno.com
W6WWW: crm@oes1 oes.ca.gov     Packet W6WWW@KM6PX.#NOCAL.USA.NA
EOM EMC068