Sniffer dogs get bags of experience

Search Dogs Australia may have just found the quickest way to navigate through Bunnings Warehouse, but it’s not hardware they’re searching for.

The Mid West team of Search Dogs Australia hosted a training session at Bunnings on Saturday afternoon where dogs and their handlers searched for a “missing” person.

In training, dogs are taught to specialise in certain areas including tracking, area, water and cadaver but this is the first time they had participated in a large-scale building search.

The eight dogs were given an article of clothing to smell and then tracked their "missing" person through Bunnings to find their hiding place.

All dogs were successful in tracking down the "missing" person, which SDA co-founder Lloyd Storey said was a remarkable effort.

“Our dogs have only just been introduced to building searches and the fact they were able to work so well in a new environment is amazing,” he said.

“It’s not like searching for someone out in the open like they’re used to. In a place like Bunnings, with fertilisers, chemicals and wood smells, they’re all compressed into a confined place.

“That’s why it was so amazing to watch our dogs tackle the task. Some were quicker than others but in the end they all found their missing person.”

Geraldton’s Bunnings Warehouse has recently come on board in support of the SDA, allowing them access to the store to train between 5pm and 8pm Saturday.

The Mid West search dogs have been called out to five cases over the past few years, which Bunnings customer service manager Darryl Marsh said made them an important necessity.

“Living in a regional community where people can break down or wander off into the bush, having local search dogs is very important, ” he said.

“That’s why our regional team thought it was a great idea to sponsor our local SDA team. We allowed them to use our facilities so they can train in every aspect of search and rescue.

“Our customers and team were all very excited to see the dogs and their handlers in action.”

For more information on Search Dogs Australia [www.search dogsaustraliainc.com|click here].