Blogville SAfety Week Search and Rescue

Good Morning Everyone.  WElcome to the Search and Rescue part of the Blogville Community Safety Week.

I am Bert and I will be your guide thru this very long post as we learn all about Wilderness Safety, Humans and Dogs and How they smell and a hole bunch of other stuff.

You will see many of our friends who have passed on and we hope you will forgive us for still using them as our wonderful examples of each section.  Most of this post was done three years ago and we just couldnt bring ourselves to change the pictures.

So we hope you see this in the loving memory that it is meant to be and not to hurt any hearts.


WE are going to start out with The difference between the Human Nose and the Incredible K-9 Nose.

My Vickie wants to thank everyone who sent in pictures for us to use. 
OFF we go:

PART A

 So whats with all the stuff floating in the sky?  Well my friends those are Skin Rafts.

Every person loses 40,000 skin cells per minute. These cells take the shape of tiny flakes called skin rafts which can float on air currents or drop to the ground depending on humidity levels, wind currents, sunshine, cloud cover, terrain, and temperature. 


I am sure you have heard that humans have fingerprints and that no fingerprint is alike.  Not one person on the whole earth has a fingerprint like yours.  That makes you special and different than anyone else....But Did You Know that you also have a SMELL that is unique only to you.  No other person in the whole world smells like you.....

 And the cool thing is that us dogs, well we have such great noses that we can tell the difference between the way you smell and the way anyone else smells.

Here is how....... 
Inside the human nose is a tiny microscopic little hair known as your olfactory receptor.  On the end of each receptor is 5 to 10 itty bitty little hairs called Cilia.  They gather the smells you come across and send a message to your brain.   

"Mmmmmmm What's That Smell I Smell" You ask..

After it goes past the filament hairs and into the bigger hairs (receptors) and in to your brain... you get....

"CHOCOLATE"  
If you read the picture above you now know that us dogs have WAY more hairs in our noses than you do.

So when you smell Chocolate Cake, you think.... "MMMMMM Chocolate Cake"

But when we smell Chocolate Cake, we think...... "MMMMM, butter, sugar, eggs, flour"  (I have to stop with the recepie now cause thats all My Vickie knows about cake cookin.)

And what is even more cool, is that because everyone in the world smells different and us dogs have such incredible noses, we can do what is called "Scent Discrimination" so if you were ever lost, we could search with hundreds of other people and dogs, but our super noses would not be confused by the other smells, cause we would be looking of your particular special smell.

PART B

"What to do before you go"

OK, Lets get started

 Because we all love our humans, we want them to be safe.  We are watching out for them all the time and they don't even know it.  Sometimes though, they take off without us and don't even realize the dangers that await them.

So lets teach them some things that will help us, should they ever get lost.

Every dog ready?

Here we go.....

 Before we ever let them leave (without us) on say a camping trip where heaven forbid, doggies can't go.  We need them to leave behind a few very important things.

A.    A Tin Foil Shoe-print.   This is very easy to do for kids and adults to.   (Did you know that the people who get lost the most are "adults")  so it is our job to teach them too.
       To make a tin foil shoeprint, place a piece of foil on the floor. (best to use carpet) 
       Then step onto the tin foil.  Lean onto your toes and then back on your heels.....then carefully step off.  Tah Dah....There you have a shoeprint.

That way if you get lost, the trackers and searchers can watch for the same pattern in the dirt that is on your foil.   Pretty Coolllllllll.....

B.  Also, especially for the youngins......a recent photo.   Since we all take so many photos this shouldn't be a problem.

You see, what happens is:  when or if you get lost and your a wee one....your family is very nervous and sometimes they have a hard time describing what you look like.   Thus...the photo.....


C.  Next we need a "Scent Article" with something that has your smell on it.  You know, like what we talked about yesterday.   Within 30 seconds of putting on a clean shirt, or socks....they become saturated with YOUR smell.....

Thus a "Dirty Sock"

D.  And Finally You need to "Leave a Note" behind.....It should tell your family:
1.   Where you are going
2.   When you will be back
3.   What you are wearing
4.   And make sure you are wearing the same shoes you used to make the shoe-print

Now take all those things, the tin foil shoe-print, the dirty sock, the photograph and the Note and put them all in a brown paper bag and give it to a family member to keep safe.

Good Job every doggie.

Lets keep those humans safe.  

PART C
                      What to Carry In Your Pack"

OK Off Again....

Now we are going to teach our humans another very important part of going hiking.  

You see, most of the small ones just let mom and dad carry the pack with the water, food and camping gear.

They don't want to weigh the kids down with heavy stuff, they just want them to stay on the trail and "Keep Up"

But lets face it........It is soooo easy to get separated from the group.  You turn your head to look at a flower, or step in the woods to go to the bathroom, or just not paying attention and WHAM!!!!

Somebody gets lost.

So this lesson is simple:   As Sugar has so wonderfully shown us in the picture above:      EVERYONE should carry a pack of some sort....even if it is only a fanny pack. 

And Here are some of the most important things to carry in your pack, no matter how small it is.......
 Of course, the all important WATER BOTTLE......Do you know how long you can stay alive WITHOUT water?  About 3 days.   We all need water.....

Also a fun but very useful and tiny thing is a LIGHTSTICK.....(Tomorrow we will tell you why you should carry these things and how to use them)

 Definatley an extra pair of socks.   "WHY?"  you ask do I need extra socks?

Because if you are a human your body heat escapes through your feet and your head.  If you were hiking all day your feet will be wet with sweat, plus there are a ton of others things that can happen during the day and a clean dry pair of socks will bring more comfort and warmth than you can imagine. 

You also want a little snack.  I like jerky but you can put in anything you want.  Probably best to NOT choose something with a lot of salt in it. 

 A VERY IMPORTANT thing is a BLUE bandana......(Haha, you have to wait to find out why the color BLUE is so important)

 And Finally and as important as all the rest is "A WHISTLE"  Yep, a good quality really loud Whistle

My Vickie wanted to put in here that her favoirte thing in her pack is Ductape.  Does anyone know all the ways you can use ductape while in the wilderness?

DON'T GET LOST

PART E

                                Water The Good and The Bad

So you made it thru the night safely and you have everything ready to alert searchers from the air and on the ground but now you find you have no more water in your water bottle.  And you are thirsty.....

There is a creek or lake close by and you can see it from your tree.  Oh you are thirsty and you really want some of that clear cold liquid....But is it ok to drink the water?

Well, we know you have always been taught  NOT to drink the water in the mountains and this is true.....HOWEVER.....for this time and this time only, we give you permission to drink from the creek or lake.

You see we need water, and without water humans especially, will only survive on an average of three days, So, it is time to LISTEN Very Carefully again, because water is wonderful, but also terribly dangerous, especially when you are tired and scared cause you are lost and alone.

(I need to put a little note here, thanks to Sarge and his moms comment.  Yes it is true you will get very very sick by drinking the mountain waters, even if it looks clear and clean.  But if you don't drink, you can die.  If you do drink and get the little nasty bug, it takes five to seven days to affect you....to make you sick....and by then you will be found, home safe and sound.....and you can go to the doctor and get treated for it.)

So Are You Listening? 

You can see your water from your tree and you want to go and get a drink but how you go to the water can be the difference between just getting a drink or getting hurt......

So lets do this one step at a time.

STEP ONE:
Go to the water but be sure to STOP when you are about 10 feet from the waters edge. 

STEP TWO:
Now you need to get on your hands and knees.  Then you can crawl a few feet closer but STOP moving forward on your hands and knees when you are about five feet away.

STEP THREE:
Now you need to lay flat on your stomach and crawl the last few feet to the point that you can reach the water with your hands if you stretch.

STEP FOUR:
Reach forward and scoop the water into your hands, then bring the water to your mouth and drink the wonderful fluid to your hearts delight.

Even if, like in the picture above, it is just a small creek.....PLEASE approach it the way we just taught you.  People have drowned in shallower water than what you see here.

Example:  If you went to the water just walking and slipped and fell face first into the water.......well.....you get the idea......

ONE FINAL STEP

BE SURE TO BACK AWAY FROM THE WATER THE SAME WAY YOU CAME IN.......  DONT STAND UP UNTIL YOU ARE 10 FEET FROM THE WATER. 

Whew.....this is the scariest thing for us to teach you because it is sooooo important.  So Please remember this.

PART F

                                        "Here We Come"

Well, this has been a bunch of fun for me and My Vickie.  We thought we would finish up by letting all our two and four legged friends now that, should you get lost....remember.....

Stay Put and Wait cause very soon, other two and four legged friends will be looking for you.

It doesn't matter where you are, us fourlegged ones will use our noses to find you and bring you home.

In the forest

In strange places

In the water

HERE WE COME......

ONE MORE THING

Search and Rescue Dog groups are generally volunteer non-profit organizations.    I caution you to be wary if someone calls and offers their services for a price.

When your family members and loved ones are missing, you are at a very vulnerable place and can easily be led in the wrong direction.

Most qualified SAR organizations are called by the SO that is responsible for your search.  If they have not yet, called in the dogs, REQUEST them.  Also ask for air support and searchers from other departments.

Sometimes when we are so worried, we just let others handle the situation.  Be proactive.  Find your local resources and keep a list of who you want to respond if ever you, your family, us pups, or friends should ever get lost.

You are entitled to ALL the help available.  WE just don't always know what options we have.  (THESE ARE JUST THE OPINIONS OF ME AND MY VICKIE)

I know this is a very very long post.....so if you made it this far

Thank You.  And Stay Safe my friends

Love

Bert