The SSD mission is to alleviate human suffering and preserve human life which includes locating deceased individuals to bring closure to families that have lost their loved ones. Human Remains Detection (HRD) dogs are trained to locate deceased subjects. It is very common to have wilderness air scent or trailing dogs that are cross-trained in HRD. Some handler/canine teams are even trained at the level of forensic work. Similar to air scent dogs, HRD dogs are assigned an area to search. The size of the area and the speed of the search depends on the situation. HRD dogs are trained to perform a Trained Final Response (TFR) to indicate that remains have been found. Some of the SSD handlers have pursued extended training and national certifications with their dogs and can assist agencies in law enforcement or the NM State Dive Team in a variety of venues for HRD, such as water (from boats and shoreline), buried, buildings, vehicles and even rubble in the case of disasters.
Wilderness searches can involve searching the ground as well as elevated areas.
Water HRD dogs can perform searches along shores or from a boat.
HRD dogs can be trained to search for remains inside buildings or rubble.
Specially trained HRD dogs can perform searches of cars.
Advantages
- Detection not visual, but by sense of smell, so work well in day or night conditions
- Can continue to search for lost or missing persons until found, even many years later
- Cover the same amount of ground as ~20 searchers in the same amount of time
- Can work quickly or at a high-level of detail as needed
Considerations
- No wind or unstable (“squirrely”) wind conditions make searching more difficult
- Temperature extremes will affect the dog’s performance
Best Search Conditions
- Light to moderate, steady breezes
- Constant wind direction
- Moderate to cooler temperatures
Certification
For a handler/canine team to become mission ready in HRD with SSD, they must pass three tests that evaluate searching capabilities, obedience, and dog and human non-aggression. Handler/canine teams must recertify every two years if not sooner. Examples of some of the outside certifications we pursue are NAPWDA, AMPWADA, NASAR, and SDONA.