CR Dogs - Search & Rescue

Search & Rescue

Hamilton Police Volunteer Search and Rescue Canine Teams

....in Partnership with The Rotary Club of Hamilton Mountain

Click here to download the donation form as a PDF

SAR Teams at EPD
Ray Lau & K9 Ace, Hetty Abma & K9 Ryker, Dave Walker & K9 Wile E.

On Call 24 hrs a day 365 days a year.

   The Hamilton Police Search and Rescue Canine Teams provide a unique and
   valuable service to the City of Hamilton and the many communities across
   Ontario.

   The Hamilton Police Service is one of the only Police agencies in Ontario
   where unpaid professional SAR canine teams are deployed within the service
   alongside regular members in ground search and rescue operations.

Emergency Preparedness Day

CERTIFIED SAR CANINE TEAMS

   The HPS Volunteer SAR Canine Teams are also members of the Ontario
   Search and Rescue Volunteer Association (OSARVA). OSARVA is the
   governing body for all volunteer search and rescue teams in Ontario and
   liaises with the OPP.

   As members of OSARVA, the teams are certified annually by the Ontario
   Provincial Police to the Provincial Volunteer Search and Rescue Canine
   Standards. The rigorous two day certification is held at the OPP Canine
   Academy in Gravenhurst, Ontario where only a handful of volunteer teams
   are successful in certifying each year. Currently two of the Hamilton Police
   Volunteer Search and Rescue Canine Teams are certified and two new
   teams are in training for certification in 2008.

PURPOSE OF SAR TRAINED PERSONNEL

   The City of Hamilton and the province of Ontario offer a great variety of
   natural resources, which attracts enthusiasts of varying skill levels to enjoy
   the outdoors.

   Occasionally persons taking part in any number of outdoor activities go
   beyond their personal limitations. Some find themselves lost or injured and
   requiring emergency services. With our aging population calls for service
   regarding searches for elderly persons with conditions such as Alzheimer’s is
   becoming more common.

Whether it's a young child, an outdoor enthusiast or an elderly person that's
reported lost or missing, every search is an emergency.

WHO IS SAR TRAINED?

    Regular sworn Police Officers, Auxiliary Police Officers, and trained civilian
   volunteer canine team members from the community have been trained in
   SAR. All members, including the volunteer civilian canine handlers, have
   been trained and certified in ground search and rescue to the standards of
   the Hamilton Police Service. The unit responds to calls for service to assist
   in locating lost or missing persons in the Hamilton area such as children,
   despondent, Autistic persons, and elderly Alzheimer patients.

BASIC TRAINING

Although the volunteer SAR canines live at home with their civilian handlers
they are not considered family pets.

They have been selected, trained and certified specifically as a working dog
for search and rescue, which is their sole purpose.

   All of the SAR canines on the team are purebred Dutch Shepherds. They
   were adopted or rescued from situations where they were not wanted for
   various reasons. It is ironic that being rescued themselves, they now rescue
   others.

   The Hamilton Police Volunteer SAR Teams have all gone through a rigorous
   50 week basic SAR canine training course which is over 1200 hours in order
   to certify under the Hamilton Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police.

   The teams learn the skills of tracking, article search, obedience, agility,
   building search, water search and cadaver search. The canines are trained
   to find live victims in urban and wilderness environments.

They are also trained in cadaver search in the detection of buried human
remains and locating drowned victims under water.

Bellwood Water Search

   The Volunteer SAR Canine Teams train 50 weeks each year throughout
   all the seasons. Over 1000 hours a year are spent training in all weather
   conditions in order to prepare for any search situation day or night.

Both the handlers and the dogs require specialized clothing and training
equipment to work in the often difficult and treacherous environments.

   Protective footwear, water proof clothing for the handlers, protective vests
   and footwear for the dogs to prevent injury while working, 2- way radios,
   and GPS units, are just some of the equipment that is required by the teams

   Ongoing specialized training for the handlers in wilderness searching, building
   collapse, water search, cadaver work, map and compass, GPS training, etc.
   is acquired by attending SAR seminars across Canada.

The Volunteer SAR Canine Teams are on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

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