A Seattle organization that trains search and rescue dogs and also assists law enforcement agencies in searches offered a unique perspective last week into how the dogs operate when they are put into service.
A video shared on social media demonstrated how one dog in training that was being tracked by a GPS device located a person and alerted its handler to their presence in a search area of 34 acres.
The non-profit organization King County Search Dogs posted the video to its Facebook page last week and it quickly went viral.
KCSD shared a time-lapse video of a Google map that had a person designated as the search “subject” tucked away in a wooded area.
A dog named Lincoln and his handler worked their way through the area until eventually the dog found who he was looking for and ended the search.
Lincoln began the search at the southern tip of the highlighted area and made some interesting loops throughout the map.
KCSD explained the loops were created to throw the dog off the scent.
“Circles are residual ‘scent pool’ distractions where people had been hiding earlier in the day. Thanks to Elisabeth who was very happy to see Lincoln after hiding in the cold drizzle!” the group said of its missing subject.
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In the video above, Lincoln eventually completed the job at hand in just over 30 minutes.
After locating the “missing” subject, the pup could be seen running back to his handler — who had been designated as H33 on the map — twice in apparent excitement.
One Facebook user who came across KCSD’s video commented, “Amazing to be able to see this to put into perspective of how dog and human can work together for maximum effort and in good timing too!!!!”
The clip is so vivid another person commented, “I can feel the excitement from K9 Lincoln when he finds the subject. ‘I found her, I found her! Hurry up human, follow me!’”
It is common knowledge that man’s best friend is adept and finding items and people who might often prefer to remain undetected.
They are also experts at finding people who are hopelessly lost.
A dog’s sense of smell and its instincts can be utilized with the proper training to find criminals, drugs or people who go missing in inhospitable places such as dense forests.
In the times we live in, law enforcement agencies so often utilize drones, helicopters and officers on the ground when looking for someone who could either be dangerous or in danger.
As KCSD’s clip shows, technology cannot yet replicate the efficiency, urgency and excitement of a well-trained and eager dog.
