Find-o and Rescue!

In recent weeks, Mexico has been hit by a number of earthquakes, with the most devastating affecting Mexico City on the 19th of September. With rescue efforts still under way, we've heard of a very special four-legged-friend who is making a huge contribution.

Omar Torres-AFP/GettyImages

Meet Frida, the 7-year-old yellow Labrador rescue dog, deployed by the Mexican navy (SEMAR) to help the search effort in the event of natural disasters. Kitted out in her protective goggles, harness, and two pairs of booties, her services were called upon after both the Mexico City and 7th of September Oaxaca earthquakes to help search for survivors. In her career, she has recovered 52 people, although, sadly, only 12 of them alive. This number does not include the latest Mexico disasters, as the recovery is still on going.

When details of her work made the news, Frida became a viral sensation: a tweet posted by the Mexican navy, featuring a collage of pictures of her, reportedly received over 4000 retweets and almost 7000 likes alone! The people of Twitter love Frida, with many hailing her a hero, or viewing her as a symbol of hope during this troubled time.

As reported by the LA Times, Frida's handler, Israel Arauz Salinas, described the training that she, and other pups, undertake in order to become detector dogs. Puppies are selected from the age of two months, and training varies depending on whether they will go into the detection of explosives, narcotics, or people. The form of training that Frida would have received included a seemingly normal game of fetch; once the dog gets used to this idea, the trainer then begins running with the toy in hand, instead of throwing it for them to retrieve. This aides the pup in associating the smell of a human with the reward of the toy. Then dogs train for three hours a day for a whole year before they are deployed to disaster sites. 

Once on site, trained dogs bark if they detect life signs, or stop and proceed cautiously, if there is a scent, but no life signs. Some of the smaller spaces Frida and the other dogs will have to search on site are no more than 20 inches hight, but crawling, the dogs can get much further than a human.

It's great to see that, in their hour of need, dogs truly are Man's Best Friend! If this heart-warming tale has piqued your interest in the work of service dogs, we have just the book for you. Partners by Nan Walton includes an array of real life stories on service dogs, from Search and Rescue canines like Frida, to guide dogs. You can find it here.