What Do the Rescue Dogs in Haiti Have to Do With Your Career?
The Boston Globe summarized the Haiti earthquake as follows: "Tuesday afternoon, January 12th, the worst earthquake in 200 years - 7.
0 in magnitude - struck less than ten miles from the Caribbean city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The initial quake was later followed by twelve aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.
0.
Structures of all kinds were damaged or collapsed, from shantytown homes to national landmarks.
It is still very early in the recovery effort, but millions are likely displaced, and thousands are feared dead as rescue teams from all over the world are now descending on Haiti to help where they are able.
" As a result, many countries are responding to this earthquake in Haiti with an outpouring of food, supplies and volunteers.
But that is not all; they are also sending Search and Rescue (SAR) dogs.
The list of participating countries who have pledged to send search and rescue teams to Haiti includes Spain, Iceland, Canada, Germany, Venezuela, Russia, China and the US.
But the list is growing.
As the Search Dog Foundation notes: "As dawn broke over Port-Au-Prince today, a C-17 cargo plane landed with its life-saving cargo: six Canine Disaster Search Teams trained by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF).
" What is a Search and Rescue (SAR) Dog? These dogs are called up for work in a time of crisis, when one or more humans have been lost.
There are many situations that call for the work of an SAR dog; searches are conducted in wilderness settings, natural disasters, cadaver searches, avalanche entrapment, and water settings for drowning victims.
How do they work? These SAR dogs will play a crucial role in locating both living and dead victims of this disaster in Haiti.
But how do they work? Search and rescue (SAR) dogs can detect human scent.
These dogs have a sense of smell that is far more powerful than that of a human.
Also, a dog's sense of smell is not only more powerful than ours, it is more discerning.
Thus a dog can pick out a target odor in a mix of odors.
When humans are trapped under rubble, dogs are trained to focus on one scent.
In order to find the victim as quickly as possible, the dog learns to ignore all other scents and noises.
One could imagine the number of distractions that these dogs must face: the screams, the frantic workers, the variety of smells, and other animals.
What scent are they after? What are these dogs smelling? They are detecting human scent.
All humans, alive or dead, constantly emit microscopic particles bearing human scent.
Although we still don't understand all the exact processes of how dogs track the scent, research shows it may include skin rafts, evaporated perspiration, respiratory gases, or decomposition gases released by bacterial action on human skin or tissues.
Millions of these particles are airborne and are carried by the wind for considerable distances.
These dogs are trained to locate the scent of any human in a specific search area.
What kinds of dogs in are involved in search and rescue? Search and rescue work is not for every dog.
Dogs with a strong play drive, that like games of fetch, and that will work for rewards are preferred dogs.
In training, dogs are rewarded with play and treats when they locate an acting victim.
Requirements for the ideal SAR dog include trainability, agility, endurance, and the ability to get along with other dogs and people.
A search dog is a valued member of his handler's family, and he regards people as his friends.
SAR dogs are usually the larger working and sporting breeds of dogs.
German or Belgian Shepherds, Border Collies, Dobermans, Rottweilers, Golden or Labrador Retrievers, Giant Schnauzers, Bloodhounds, and Newfoundlands are among the breeds found on SAR unit rosters.
The end result of having a well-trained, reliable dog does not come easily, for the search work is hard and requires the dogs to encounter search scenarios such as night, hazardous terrain, low-visibility.
Often the work must be done off-trail, when they are often fatigued or distracted.
So if SAR dogs aren't born ready to help humans in this way, how do they get there? Through the specialized work of training.
The Cultural Mandate As we watch the variety of support going to Haiti to help in this current crisis, it is great to see how humans have identified and made use of the special skills of canines.
But where did the impulse come from to train dogs for work and for this kind of work in particular? Where did the idea come from to equip dogs to do this work and the other kinds of tasks they can perform, such as bomb searches, drug raids, and guides for the blind? Like so many things in life, the origin can be found in the biblical book of Genesis.
In Genesis 1:28 God gives us the Dominion Mandate: "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.
Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.
" Does this passage simply tell us that God wants us to take care of the birds and fish and have babies? No, the Dominion Mandate is much, much wider than that.
God calls us to develop and wisely rule over all of creation.
We are not merely to watch over birds, we are given the privilege and responsibility of developing planes, helicopters, rockets, and other flying machines.
Yes, we are supposed to study flying creatures, but we are also supposed to create things that fly.
We are to rule over the air for good.
We are to develop culture and cultural artifacts on the earth, in the waters, and in the airways.
This impulse to rule, to exercise wise dominion also applies to canines.
The training and development of search and rescue dogs is another example of wise dominion.
Training and Human work While it is true these dogs that are used in searches were not given the abilities by humans, we are the ones who have matched the skills of the dogs with our needs during a time of crisis.
We have trained the dogs to serve us by finding humans and communicating the find.
Training is begun early in life, when the puppy is eight weeks old.
After about a year of training the dogs are ready for action and can work for up to 10 years.
Career Choice/Business Idea While thinking about your own career choice or about what kind of business to start, think about all the fields related to working dogs: trainer, handler, research scientist, rescue worker, breeder, and veterinarian.
What business ideas are there? Remember, the main goal of starting a business is to serve others and to meet real needs.
In what ways can dogs meet real needs? Think of other ways dogs can be employed.
Think of better applications than the ones we currently have.
Think of better, faster, cheaper, more efficient ways to breed, train, and deploy these dogs.
Think of other animals.
Did you know that horses are also being trained for search and rescue? Conclusion God made both canines and humans with talents and special skills.
However, the dogs don't rule over us, we rule over them.
We are the ones who have identified the canine gifts and nurtured them for our purposes.
This is a great example of the wise rule that God calls us to in Genesis 1:28, in the Dominion or Creation Mandate.
How has God called you to rule in His world? Doug Peterson http://www.
earthregained.
com
0 in magnitude - struck less than ten miles from the Caribbean city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The initial quake was later followed by twelve aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.
0.
Structures of all kinds were damaged or collapsed, from shantytown homes to national landmarks.
It is still very early in the recovery effort, but millions are likely displaced, and thousands are feared dead as rescue teams from all over the world are now descending on Haiti to help where they are able.
" As a result, many countries are responding to this earthquake in Haiti with an outpouring of food, supplies and volunteers.
But that is not all; they are also sending Search and Rescue (SAR) dogs.
The list of participating countries who have pledged to send search and rescue teams to Haiti includes Spain, Iceland, Canada, Germany, Venezuela, Russia, China and the US.
But the list is growing.
As the Search Dog Foundation notes: "As dawn broke over Port-Au-Prince today, a C-17 cargo plane landed with its life-saving cargo: six Canine Disaster Search Teams trained by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF).
" What is a Search and Rescue (SAR) Dog? These dogs are called up for work in a time of crisis, when one or more humans have been lost.
There are many situations that call for the work of an SAR dog; searches are conducted in wilderness settings, natural disasters, cadaver searches, avalanche entrapment, and water settings for drowning victims.
How do they work? These SAR dogs will play a crucial role in locating both living and dead victims of this disaster in Haiti.
But how do they work? Search and rescue (SAR) dogs can detect human scent.
These dogs have a sense of smell that is far more powerful than that of a human.
Also, a dog's sense of smell is not only more powerful than ours, it is more discerning.
Thus a dog can pick out a target odor in a mix of odors.
When humans are trapped under rubble, dogs are trained to focus on one scent.
In order to find the victim as quickly as possible, the dog learns to ignore all other scents and noises.
One could imagine the number of distractions that these dogs must face: the screams, the frantic workers, the variety of smells, and other animals.
What scent are they after? What are these dogs smelling? They are detecting human scent.
All humans, alive or dead, constantly emit microscopic particles bearing human scent.
Although we still don't understand all the exact processes of how dogs track the scent, research shows it may include skin rafts, evaporated perspiration, respiratory gases, or decomposition gases released by bacterial action on human skin or tissues.
Millions of these particles are airborne and are carried by the wind for considerable distances.
These dogs are trained to locate the scent of any human in a specific search area.
What kinds of dogs in are involved in search and rescue? Search and rescue work is not for every dog.
Dogs with a strong play drive, that like games of fetch, and that will work for rewards are preferred dogs.
In training, dogs are rewarded with play and treats when they locate an acting victim.
Requirements for the ideal SAR dog include trainability, agility, endurance, and the ability to get along with other dogs and people.
A search dog is a valued member of his handler's family, and he regards people as his friends.
SAR dogs are usually the larger working and sporting breeds of dogs.
German or Belgian Shepherds, Border Collies, Dobermans, Rottweilers, Golden or Labrador Retrievers, Giant Schnauzers, Bloodhounds, and Newfoundlands are among the breeds found on SAR unit rosters.
The end result of having a well-trained, reliable dog does not come easily, for the search work is hard and requires the dogs to encounter search scenarios such as night, hazardous terrain, low-visibility.
Often the work must be done off-trail, when they are often fatigued or distracted.
So if SAR dogs aren't born ready to help humans in this way, how do they get there? Through the specialized work of training.
The Cultural Mandate As we watch the variety of support going to Haiti to help in this current crisis, it is great to see how humans have identified and made use of the special skills of canines.
But where did the impulse come from to train dogs for work and for this kind of work in particular? Where did the idea come from to equip dogs to do this work and the other kinds of tasks they can perform, such as bomb searches, drug raids, and guides for the blind? Like so many things in life, the origin can be found in the biblical book of Genesis.
In Genesis 1:28 God gives us the Dominion Mandate: "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.
Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.
" Does this passage simply tell us that God wants us to take care of the birds and fish and have babies? No, the Dominion Mandate is much, much wider than that.
God calls us to develop and wisely rule over all of creation.
We are not merely to watch over birds, we are given the privilege and responsibility of developing planes, helicopters, rockets, and other flying machines.
Yes, we are supposed to study flying creatures, but we are also supposed to create things that fly.
We are to rule over the air for good.
We are to develop culture and cultural artifacts on the earth, in the waters, and in the airways.
This impulse to rule, to exercise wise dominion also applies to canines.
The training and development of search and rescue dogs is another example of wise dominion.
Training and Human work While it is true these dogs that are used in searches were not given the abilities by humans, we are the ones who have matched the skills of the dogs with our needs during a time of crisis.
We have trained the dogs to serve us by finding humans and communicating the find.
Training is begun early in life, when the puppy is eight weeks old.
After about a year of training the dogs are ready for action and can work for up to 10 years.
Career Choice/Business Idea While thinking about your own career choice or about what kind of business to start, think about all the fields related to working dogs: trainer, handler, research scientist, rescue worker, breeder, and veterinarian.
What business ideas are there? Remember, the main goal of starting a business is to serve others and to meet real needs.
In what ways can dogs meet real needs? Think of other ways dogs can be employed.
Think of better applications than the ones we currently have.
Think of better, faster, cheaper, more efficient ways to breed, train, and deploy these dogs.
Think of other animals.
Did you know that horses are also being trained for search and rescue? Conclusion God made both canines and humans with talents and special skills.
However, the dogs don't rule over us, we rule over them.
We are the ones who have identified the canine gifts and nurtured them for our purposes.
This is a great example of the wise rule that God calls us to in Genesis 1:28, in the Dominion or Creation Mandate.
How has God called you to rule in His world? Doug Peterson http://www.
earthregained.
com
