Dogs from the U.S. Fly to Haiti to Help Find Earthquake Survivors

Six canine search teams trained by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation have flown to Haiti in hopes of finding buried humans (alive) under the earthquake wreckage. The six dogs that have been partnered with fire fighters are specially trained to search for people after disasters such as earthquakes, building collapses, train derailments, and mudslides.

According to Executive Director of the Search Dog Foundation, Debra Tosch, the Haitian government requested assistance from the United Stated after the 7.0 earthquake struck the island earlier this week.

The California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2), a FEMA urban search and rescue task force based in Los Angeles, is working with the State Department.

Who are the Canine Heroes?

Cadillac
Cadillac is a male Black Labrador Retriever that was born on December 1, 2005. He was kindly donated by the Guide Dogs for the Blind. He is DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and FEMA (Federal Emergency Manangement Agency) Certified; and his handler is Jasmine Segura.

Baxter
Baxter is a Golden Retriever donated by the Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue. He was born on September 1, 2004 and his handler is Gary Durian. Baxter is DHS/FEMA Certified.

Hunter
Hunter is a Border Collie born on October 28, 2002. He was donated by Patti Baldwin and his handler is Bill Monahan. Hunter is DHS/FEMA Certified.

Maverick
Maverick is a German Shepherd Dog donated by Karen McLaughlin. He was born on July 23, 2002 and his handler is Jason Vasquez. Maverick is DHS/FEMA Certified.

Dawson
Dawson is a Border Collie donated by Kellee Matthews. He was born on March 27, 2002 and his handler is Ron Weckbacher. Dawson has a California OES Cadaver Certification.

Pearl
Pearl, the only female of the bunch, is a Labrador Retriever. She was donated by the High Sierra Animal rescue and her handler is Ron Horetski. Pearl was born on August 3, 2005 and she is DHS/FEMA Certified.

*To view pictures of the search dogs and their handlers, click here.

National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to recruiting rescued dogs and partnering them with firefighters to find people buried alive in the wreckage of disasters. The best part is that since its founding in 1996, the Search Dog Foundation has rescued hundreds of dogs, many on the brink of euthanasia.

For more information visit SearchDogFoundation.org.

If you would like to keep up to date with the status of the search dogs in Haiti, follow them on Twitter at Twitter.com/searchrescuedog.