There Is More to a Cadaver Dog than Just the Dog!
By Julie Starbuck, VP, and Director of K9 Training
Peace River K9 Search and Rescue prides itself on producing some of the best Cadaver Dog Teams in the Nation. The skill level of these teams is outstanding, and their skills have been sought throughout the country and even overseas. These teams find missing persons, historic archeological sites, weapons, and more. But what exactly does it take to be a Cadaver Dog Team?
The public perspective is that a Cadaver Dog starts a search, locates a body and the work is done. While this is one aspect of the job, it is just a very small portion. The Cadaver Dog is actually a human remains detection dog, tasked with finding the ODOR of human remains. While this can be a body, it can also be a weapon used in a crime, the odor remaining in the trunk of a car that at one point had a body in it, clearing an area to indicate there is no-body present, and so much more. The dog is just one part of a very valuable and highly trained team. While the dog is the odor detector, the human has to be the brains of the operation.
The human part of the team has to be well versed and educated in many disciplines. They need to take classes in Crime Scene Preservation to ensure that if they are working a criminal case they handle the scene correctly. Every handler needs to be able to accurately and effectively explain to a third party, such as law enforcement, what the cadaver dog is capable of doing, how they work, and what limitations the dogs have. They need to be able to quickly and effectively assess an area for hazards they may encounter while working and understand the legalities of conducting a search in the area they are searching. They need to take classes and do fieldwork in environmental situations they may encounter such as Structural Collapse, Basic Ropes, Helicopter Safety, and Man Tracking. Our teams are taught about the aspects of what they can expect in the field such as:
Grave Migration – the movement of the deceased in the soil and ground after death due to environment or animals
Foliage and Soil Changes – how a burial will affect the soil and foliage around the gravesite, and how trees’ root systems will affect a burial.
The Stages of Decomposition – so they will understand what they are looking for based on the length of time the victim has been missing
Bone Recognition – so they can identify animal versus human bones in the field
Pooling, Spooling and Wind Effects on Odor – So they will understand how weather, wind, sunlight, and other environmental situations affect the distribution of odor.
Court Preparation – Understanding what may be expected of them and how to effectively testify in a court situation
This is not an exhaustive list, and education is always ongoing! The most important part is that the handler has to be a critical thinker in the field. The dog searching and performing its trained final response (or alert) that it has found the odor of human remains is just the first part of the picture. The handler then needs to assess the dog’s alert. Is the alert at the bottom of a hill and we are looking for an older grave (odor may have migrated down the hill)? Where did the dog first show a change of behavior indicating it initially smelled the odor of human remains? Is there anywhere the dog missed or could not get to where the odor may be generating? Does the alert make sense to the scenario presented? Is there something the handler can do, such as probing the ground, to help the dog pinpoint the strongest odor? How is the wind, temperature, or humidity affecting the dog’s ability to search? What follow-up should occur? These are just some of the many critical questions that go through a handler’s mind on each and every search.
On top of this, our Cadaver Dog Teams are expected to maintain meticulous records of every training session and deployment. They are expected to independently maintain their dog’s skills at an extremely high level while attending team training, and classes. They are expected to be available for deployments, often using their vacation time just to help others. It is a dedication to the job that takes many hours of training and maintenance.
Being a Cadaver Dog Team is more than just a dog and a Handler. It is about being an effective team that has acquired all of the skills and knowledge necessary to tackle any scenario presented. It is about working effectively with our outside partners such as law enforcement, the fire department, and others. It is about being confident and capable of advocating in the field and explaining what your K9 is doing and what follow-up you think is important. This is what it means to be a Cadaver Team and why Peace River K9 Search and Rescue has produced some of the most outstanding cadaver dog teams in the nation.
