Dogs have long been used in history for finding and rescuing lost people. Our team is a part of Department of Fire and Emergency Services and State Emergency Service of Western Australia and we are known as the Canine Unit. Our members consist of handlers and dogs, each forming their own individual teams. Our teams are trained for Area Search and Rescue and also Scent Specific Tracking Search and
Rescue of lost people. We are the only authorized search dog group that assist police in searching for missing people in WA. Area Search and Rescue is when a team is given a particular area to search (generally a bush or forest area) and they are to completely clear the area of lost or missing persons. Area Search dogs are trained in using scents, usually cast in the wind, on objects or on the ground. Scent-specific Tracking Search and Rescue is when a team is given a scent article (generally an item of clothing or an item with strong individual human scent) and the dog will track this scent from the last known location of the missing person(s). Tracking dogs also use the ground and wind in tracking a particular human scent. We are a dedicated unit that meets once a week, every week (rain, hail or shine) to train.
