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Saturday, December 27, 1997
South Louisiana K-9 units search for humans, dead or alive
Two K-9 search and rescue organizations in South Louisiana have dogs trained to search for humans, both dead and alive, by using their keen sense of smell.
Caddo Parish Sheriff Don Hathaway has called on these teams to help his search and rescue unit and criminal investigators locate missing persons such as drowning and kidnap victims. The two teams, Acadian K-9 Search and Rescue from Gonzales and Louisiana Search and Rescue (LaSAR) Dogs of Slidell, routinely work together to help other law enforcement agencies close cases.
Acadian is connected with the Gonzales Police Department and LaSAR operates out of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office. Both search and rescue units are non-profit organizations and all the team members are volunteers.
K-9 units from the two teams used by the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office to date are:
Acadian K-9 Search and Rescue, Inc.
7167 Donaldson Drive
Gonzales, LA 70737
504-647-7511 (Gonzales Police Department)
Victoria Smith (K-9 Ripley -- German Shepherd); Kristi O'Pry search
Gary McDaniel (K-9 Sam -- German Shepherd) ; Kristi O'Pry search
Terri Campbell (K-9 Cagney -- German Shepherd) ; Kristi O'Pry search
Louisiana Search and Rescue (LaSAR) Dogs, Inc.
P. O. Box 2477
Slidell, LA 70459
504-892-8181 (St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office)
Lisa Higgins (K-9 Molli -- Black Labrador Retriever) ; Wayne L. Terry, Jr., search and Kristi O'Pry search
Dee Wilde (K-9 Spice -- Curly Coated Retriever) ; Kristi O'Pry search
Troi Higgins (K-9 Babe) ; Wayne L. Terry, Jr., search
Francine Weaker (K-9 Thatcher) ; Wayne L. Terry, Jr., search
Michael Vorhold (K-9 Dusty) ; Wayne L. Terry, Jr., search
The search teams are provided as a free public service and members are not compensated except for expenses in those cases where the requesting agency has the available funds. The Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office pays travel and living expenses when it uses the K-9 units. The team members cover all expenses for equipment, training, care and feeding of their canines.
Both search and rescue organizations have set standards that each K-9 team must meet to become operational. The operational K-9 team is then required to be evaluated on a regular basis to ensure their proficiency in search work.
Canines have been given by nature an olfactory system that is particularly efficient in detecting scents. Scientists have estimated that the canine's ability to detect odors is anywhere from 40 to 100 times greater than that of humans.
A canine's nose is not hindered by adaptation of scent, commonly called "nose fatigue." Nose fatigue is the phenomenon humans experience when an initially overwhelming odor is no longer noticeable. Unlike humans whose world is identified through visual images, the canine identifies his world through scents.
Search dogs trained to locate human scent can do so in a variety of environments and in all types of weather and terrain. These canines have been trained to locate human scent in at least three ways: