Sunday, January 17, 2010

HAITIE RESCUE SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION




(photo of search dog care of SDF gallery)

HAITI RESCUE report from SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION


Janet's Note: We have been involved with SDF since the book launch for THE BEAST OF NOOR in 2006. We're excited to pass on SDF's update on rescues in Haiti.

NEWS ITEM: January 15, 2010
At 1:15pm local time, an SDF Search Team in Port-au-Prince located three girls, trapped alive since Tuesday in the rubble of Haiti’s devastating earthquake.

Bill Monahan and his Border Collie, Hunter, were searching a neighborhood near the Presidential Palace, concentrating on a large bowl-shaped area of rubble which was all that remained of a 4-story building.

After criss-crossing the area, Hunter pin-pointed the survivors’ scent under 4 feet of broken concrete and did his “bark alert” to let Bill know where the victims were. Bill spoke with the survivors, then passed them bottles of water tied to the end of a stick. As they reached for the water one of the girls said, “Thank you.” Highly trained rescue crews from California Task Force 2 are now working to extricate the girls from the wreckage and provide first aid.

Bill and Hunter continue to search, as do the 6 other SDF teams on the ground in Haiti:

SDF Executive Director Debra Tosch: “All SDF handlers are experts in reading their canines, pacing them throughout their shift to ensure the dogs are kept safe, healthy, happy and motivated. The canines are literally the Task Force’s most precious tool in the hunt for survivors: their well-being is mission-critical.”

SDF is grateful to all of our supporters around the country who are truly PART OF THE SEARCH, having made this rescue possible.

Be a part of the search! Checke out SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION today.

1 comment:

Bellevue reader-teacher-librarian said...

Janet and I talked about the wild popularity of Kirby Larson's book The Two Bobbies, and I can imagine that a story about rescue animals during the Haiti tragedy would also be popular.