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Search dogs lend a paw to Montana Search and Rescue team

Posted at 12:50 PM, Feb 07, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-07 14:53:37-05

BOZEMAN – Between avalanches, lost hikers, skiers, and snowmobilers, Gallatin County Search and Rescue keep busy during the winter months.

But when they respond to incidents, they have special team members with four legs to help.

At home, they’re a typical household pet, but when Search and Rescue is called out, the K-9s are on the job.

“On our way to a search, we’ll often tell them the story about what we’re going to look for,” said Gallatin County Search and Rescue Team member Bonnie Whitman. “And then you’re talking out loud and your dog is listening but it helps you to clarify things. Once again it’s all about us trying to be a strong team,”

Whitman said several hours go into training the K-9 team members and it’s truly training for the human team members too, for them to better understand the dogs and work together to be a stronger team.

The dogs have been training to ride snowmobiles with team members to be prepared for whatever happens this winter.

“Responding to an avalanche or a search where they needed to ride, whether it’s an ATV or a snowmobile, we don’t want it to be their first time. We want it to be very comfortable because they’re stressed enough as it is so if we can take all of that stress out, to begin with then it lets them focus on their job, ” Whitman said.

The K-9s make a difference in the teams’ search efforts.

“For us, they’re really helpful,” Whitman said. “They do their best, they are another resource. We have so many different resources that we use, but the dogs have no agenda they aren’t thinking logically that we often do.”

“They are just training what they’re made to do and they’re hunting for what we ask them to hunt for and so they just put everything into it and do the best that they can,” she added.

The dogs begin to train as puppies and are considered fully trained by two years old.

-Reported by Emma Hamilton/MTN News