Search Dogs Train for Rescues and Educate Children

By CHARLEY LYMAN
Big Mountain News - Summer 2005

    Panzer the rescue dog is a four-legged sniffing machine. Watching him train is all business and all play at the same time. There's never a dull moment when he shows how his nose works. Panzer's work, while fun, is actually quite serious.

    At Big Mountain, the four-year-old German Shepherd is one of the stars of Doggie Detectives, a free program designed for kids. Panzer is certified for search and rescue and works for Flathead County Search Dogs. His human, Janet Yatchak, is also training Rudee, a 16-month-old female Chocolate Lab who has yet to be certified.

    While the dogs are training, the kids and their parents learn a lot. Included in the program are games, certificates of participation and special information and fun packets.

    Children get to meet the dogs, learn about what they do and how search and rescue does its job. Kids help train the dogs by hiding articles that the dogs search for. Along the way, they learn the serious business of search and rescue.

    Children are told about basic things to prepare for being in the woods, such as always having a partner, telling friends or family of their plans and to bring along things to help them if they get lost.

    "If nothing else, I want to leave a lasting impression on the kids," says Yatchak. "They will remember seeing Panzer or Rudee and say 'we had so much fun and we learned what we were supposed to do if we get lost.'"