NAWILIWILI — There was no need for the dogs Wednesday, but they came to support their owners. Members of the Kaua‘i Search and Rescue team were on hand to accept a $1,000 grant from the Young Brothers Community Advisory Board
NAWILIWILI — There was no need for the dogs Wednesday, but they came to support their owners.
Members of the Kaua‘i Search and Rescue team were on hand to accept a $1,000 grant from the Young Brothers Community Advisory Board to help toward training expenses for its canine unit.
Additionally, the grant will help to bring in evaluators and master trainers to train and certify dog-handler teams to a national standard, states a Kaua‘i Search and Rescue press release.
“We have a special trainer coming in November which will help our team,” Azi Turturici, one of the KSAR members who was on hand Wednesday, said.
According to the press release, KSAR is an all-volunteer organization with 20 members who are required to pass an extensive test to become search and rescue technicians. The group believes that the members must be trained themselves before they can certify the dogs, which are aides to the searcher.
In addition to the canine unit, there is a ground unit, or “Ground Pounders” as the group is affectionately labeled.
Their function is to search in areas where it is not practical to send in dogs. Additionally, the Ground Pounders serve to flank the dog-handler team so the handlers can concentrate solely on the dog.
Kuma Davis was pleased that KSAR will be able to use some of the grant to help certify more members.
“We will be able to meet our goal to certify six handlers and their canines in air scenting, trailing and human remains detection this year,” Davis said.
The KSAR canine unit is deployed by the Kaua‘i Police Department and the Kaua‘i Fire Department to assist in searching for missing Alzheimer’s patients and lost people throughout the island.
Since the Ka Loko Dam breach, during which members were instrumental in recovery efforts, Davis said they have been sent out several times with positive results.
“We have been lucky because our results have all been positive,” Davis said. “On the Mainland, the teams have not always had positive results in their searches.”
In order to be prepared for searches, the KSAR members train for six hours every Sunday morning.
The time commitment is great, as both the dog and the handler must maintain their skills at high levels of readiness.
For more information, visit www.kauaisar.org.
