From Pound Puppies to Rescue Heroes!
Tommy is an SAS – a South Auckland Special, who came very close to taking the final ‘long walk’ on death row. He’s a bitta Border Collie, a bitta Foxy, such a quick fire canine he should have been christened ‘Tommy Gun.’ It’s his irrepressible energy for life that appealed to dog trainer Kirsti Kay when she was looking for a prime candidate to train as an Urban Search and Rescue Search Dog. The manic bundle of black and white energy had been ‘bumped off’ death row at the pound several times, as his turn came up to be put down. Soft hearted staff kept hoping someone would turn up and rescue him. Lucky for Tommy, that someone was Kirsti, who had worked as a dog trainer in South Africa and was looking for a suitable dog to train in urban search and rescue.
“He was the next one to be euthanised on the Monday, and I got him on the Friday,” says Kirsti. “His nickname is T Cube, which can stand for Tommy the Terrific or Tommy the Terrible, because he’s a fabulous dog who I really enjoy working with, but he’s also totally full-on all day. A very intense child! In the beginning it was difficult to get him focused, but because of his high energy, he will just keep on going. That energy and commitment is important when a dog is searching for someone buried in an urban disaster.”
Urban Search and Rescue dog teams are the ones called in by the Fire Department whenever someone is trapped in a building or under collapsed debris in urban areas. They are used overseas after earthquakes and in New Zealand operational dogs are on standby in instances of building collapse after fires, industrial explosion or construction collapse. Ideally, two dogs are used in such situations, to confirm that the first dog has pinpointed the victim. As Kirsti says: “dogs can cover a wide disaster area far quicker than people can.”
USAR dog teams are volunteers who give their time and energy to train their search and rescue dogs. They turn out in all weathers to train on mock disaster sites, while training their dogs in obedience, agility and directional control is an ongoing exercise. Each dog must reach international standards before it can be used in the field during real urban disasters.
Kirsti: “Having the right dog is essential – it’s a matter of life and death for people trapped in a real tragedy. But for the dogs, the whole exercise is one big game of Hide and Seek! They are trained at first with their ‘toy,’ something they are obsessed about. The person hiding in an exercise initially hides with the toy. As training progresses, the dogs learn how to seek out and find hidden people, without their toy involved.
“When I first got Tommy, it took me a couple of months to find a successful place to hide his toys at home. He soon learnt to get them off the top of the fridge – he has springs under his feet! He got them out of cupboards by opening the doors. He wasn’t allowed to have the toys just when he wanted them. They are for him to get as a reward when he has found a hidden person. I have never before seen such a persistent dog! But it is this persistence that gives him the motivation to work and his obsession with toys will get him through to operational level.”
Tommy is known as the search dog who gives ‘victims’ CPR when he finds them. He jumps on their chests and licks their faces while giving voice to his excited, high pitched bark.
Agility training is quite a buzz for Tommy. He races through the course at ‘100 miles an hour’ and along a three metre ladder at “a rate of knots.”
If there was a marine search and rescue division for dogs, Tommy would be a natural. He loves all water, no matter how cold it is and will spend a long time under water, happily duck diving to dig among the underwater roots at the bottom of a river, looking for anything he can play with.
“After his full-on days, he goes all cuddly at night,” says Kirsti.
Dogs take centre stage in Kirsti’s life. Before coming to New Zealand she had her own business in dog training and behaviour and now looks after the border detector dogs at MAF kennels. As well as Tommy, Kirsti shares her home with the ‘matriarch,’ eight year old Red Heeler Bonnie, who accompanied Kirsti from South Africa. A recent addition is nine month old Luca, a ‘possible Kelpie cross,’ who has a very sweet nature. She was also rescued from death at the pound. Luca is available to anyone who wishes to join Urban Search and Rescue dog training.
“We are also always looking for volunteers to play the part of people hiding and more sites with rubble or buildings where training can be held. Anyone who loves dogs and would like to become a volunteer can contact me at kirsti@easyserve.co.nz Nobody wants there to be urban disasters, but if there are, the dogs and handlers are ready to help to save lives.”
USAR Search Dog Association has five teams in Auckland. The biggest centre is Christchurch, where urban rescue dogs in New Zealand began.