Dogs and humans are different. You probably already
knew that. But did you realize just how different we are? Think about it.
Humans primarily use sight as the way we process the world around us. Dogs, on the
other hand, use their sense of smell to interpret their experiences.
Do you own a dog? What happens when you come home? My Boston
Terrier, Ben, immediately jump off the couch and sniffs my pants and my shoes.
If I bend down to greet him, he sniffs my blouse, face and any other area he
can reach. If he could talk, he’d tell me exactly what I had been doing all
day.

According to searchandrescueassist.org, dogs have been
doing search and rescue for three hundred years. It all began with the St. Bernards
of the Monks of the Hospice in the Swiss Alps. The dogs were trained to locate
travelers who had become stranded or lost in winter storms while crossing the
passes between Switzerland and Italy.
Search and rescue dogs can be broken into two
categories: air-scenting dogs and trailing (or tracking) dogs. Air-scenting dogs primarily use airborne human scent to
home in on subjects, whereas trailing dogs rely on scent of the specific
subject. Specific applications for search and rescue dogs include wilderness,
disaster, avalanche, drowning, and cadaver recovery. Cadaver
dogs can locate entire bodies (including those buried or submerged), decomposed
bodies, body fragments (including blood, tissues, hair, and bones), or skeletal
remains; the capability of the dog is dependent upon its training.

Not surprising that dogs are referred to as Man’s Best
Friend!
Got a favorite dog story to share? I’d love to hear
it.
No comments:
Post a Comment