SDF-trained Search Teams Donovan George & Ollie and Doug Van Iwaarden & Sadie deployed in the city of Irvine, California on Friday, April 28, for a missing person search.
The person went missing Thursday night at about 8:00 pm and the Search Teams were called out Friday morning to help with search efforts. As the teams hiked through 4-5 acres of mustard seed plants some measuring taller than the Handlers, Doug shared that the dogs did very well while searching but were definitely more tired than usual due to fighting the tall plants.
Handler Donovan George shared that the teams were sure to keep the searching fun for the dogs despite the environmental challenges:
Ollie and I conducted a wide area search for approximately 40 minutes. I was impressed at Ollie’s focus and stamina during the search. There were numerous foliage obstacles and critters about. I watered Ollie often and had him sit and stay when he was far away from me, so as to not waste his energy in coming back to me for an area he already covered. About 25 minutes into the search I had one of the members on Engine 47 hide in the foliage and stay still so Ollie could have a successful search and keep his motivation up. He alerted on the “dummy” victim and was given a handler reward!
The missing person was found (not by our teams), which is the result we all hope for every time our teams are deployed.
We trust that you are as proud as we are of our teams and join us in a round of “a-paws” for their hard work!