FEMA-certified search-and-rescue dogs and their handlers from California are staged at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington, ready to support response operations as the state faces ongoing flood threats.

The presence of a ready canine team gives responders a rapid option for locating survivors in collapsed structures or other life‑safety scenarios. Rescue dogs contribute to emergency response in disaster situations primarily by locating trapped or missing victims using their superior sense of smell and dynamic decision-making abilities, often in hazardous environments where technology assists handler-dog communication. The dogs are part of FEMA Task Force 7 and partnered with the Search Dog Foundation, organizations that provide urban search-and-rescue capabilities during disasters.

Handlers put the dogs through mock rescues on Tuesday, releasing each animal to search buildings and rewarding them when they made a confirmed find. These highly trained canines undergo extensive obedience, agility, and scent detection training to navigate obstacles like walls and beams and reliably follow ground tracks or air scent to locate missing people in varied terrain. The dogs specialize in detecting live human scent, whether the emergency involves flooding, structural collapse, or another type of disaster.

Paul Januario, Search Team Manager with FEMA Task Force 7, described the dogs’ persistence and nose work. “These dogs are constant, they’re relentless, they’re never going to give up,” he said, adding: “Time and time again, they’re the greatest hide-and-seekers because they always find the victim.” This relentless dedication is crucial as swift response is essential in flood-related disasters.

Staging at Pacific Raceways places the team within reach of communities across the Puget Sound region, including Snohomish County, Skagit County, and King County. Organizers emphasized that positioning trained teams outside an affected area allows rapid deployment if flooding or other hazards create life‑threat situations.

The dogs and handlers conducted multiple search exercises designed to simulate the distractions and obstacles they can encounter in the field. Handlers rewarded dogs for making a “find,” reinforcing the trained indication behaviors that signal a locate to the team. Having these resources readily available is increasingly critical in disaster response efforts.

FEMA Task Force 7 is identified in the staging effort as the government urban search-and-rescue component, while the Search Dog Foundation is listed as the non-profit partner providing dogs for the operation. Their collaboration is intended to give local authorities an immediately deployable resource for searches in unstable conditions.

Local coverage of the deployment describes the teams as ready to assist Washington responders if conditions worsen. The staging and drills underscore the role of canine teams in locating people in environments where visibility, water, or debris can hamper other search methods; the dogs’ training focuses on following live scent through such challenges.

For now, the dogs remain at their Kent base, completing drills and maintaining readiness until regional officials request their deployment. The handlers said they have been “covering a lot of ground” during practice runs, preparing for whatever conditions a response might require.

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Original reporting: view the original article.