Vancouver’s urban search and rescue team demonstrates search dog training

Finding people trapped inside a collapsed building can be extremely difficult. Canada Task Force 1, a Vancouver-based heavy urban search and rescue team, trains for those situations. CTV News was invited on Friday to watch the team work with search dogs, some of which are seeking validation to join the task force.

The annual validation tests several skills, including searching, obedience, directional control and agility, Task Force Canine Lead and Vancouver Police Sgt. Bob Sandher told reporters after a session with Rico. The 10-month-old recently passed Level 1 Live Find validation. Many of the dogs selected for disaster searches enjoy the work as an ultimate game of hide-and-seek. Sandher said some are food-driven, while most are toy-driven. They will cross obstacles and jump out of helicopters, eager to please and win a toy.

The training carries added significance given the expectation that Vancouver is due for a major earthquake. Vancouver Police Department Const. Colin Naismith, a search dog handler and evaluator, said the team is training for a national disaster it hopes never happens, but will be ready if it does.

The team is also in a period of transition. Cooper, an 11-year-old Labrador retriever, is preparing to retire, and three-month-old Indy has been introduced as she begins disaster search dog training. Sandher said a dog that fails a validation may be given another chance a few days later because a dog or handler can have an off day. But repeated failure to meet the team’s standards is not acceptable; validation is pass or fail.

Canada Task Force 1 has 160 members, including paramedics, police officers, firefighters, engineers, doctors, City of Vancouver staff and search dogs.