One of the most important decisions you’ll make as a pet parent is finding a quality health care provider for your furry friend. Selecting the right veterinarian is a personal decision, but you’ll want to choose a practice that offers the highest available standard of care.

When Should I Look for a Vet?

Guardians seek out new vets for a variety of reasons, including a recent adoption or move, concerns about a current vet’s quality of care or treatment for a pet’s specific health problem.

How Do I Find a Vet?

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) evaluates veterinary practices on the quality of their facilities, staff, equipment and patient care. Search the organization’s website at www.healthypet.com for a list of accredited vets in your area.

It’s also a good idea to ask for recommendations from friends, family and trusted neighbors—especially those who take a keen interest in their dogs’ health and well-being.

How Do I Decide Which Vet is Right for My Dog?

Here are some things to consider when selecting a vet:

• Arrange for a first appointment without your dog to speak with a veterinarian and get an overall feel of the facilities.
• During your appointment, look around and consider whether the space is clean, modern and well-organized.
• Inquire about the number of vets on staff. In many practices, vets may share responsibility for patients and cover for each other during vacations or other absences.
• Do you have good rapport with the vet? Effective communication is essential to any health care relationship.
• Ask questions! Don’t be shy; most vets appreciate it when their clients take an interest in their pets’ care.

What Questions Should I Ask When I’m Selecting a Vet?

Although your questions may vary depending on the reason for your visit, you can use the following list as a guide:

• Is the practice AAHA-accredited?
• How are overnight patients monitored?
• What sort of equipment does the practice use?
• Does the vet refer patients to specialists?
• How are patients evaluated before anesthesia and surgery?
• Does the practice have licensed veterinary technicians on staff?
• What is the protocol for pain management?

What If I Have Problems with My Vet? Can I Switch?

Don’t worry about leaving your current vet if you have concerns about the quality of care. Most veterinary practices, like all businesses, expect clients to come and go. Before you leave, remember to ask for a complete copy of your dog’s health records to be mailed or faxed to you or your new vet.

Source: Vet Confidential: An Insider's Guide to Protecting Your Pet's Health / Louise Murray, DVM 

According to Army Veterinary Corps Lieutenant Colonel Dr. James Giles, military working dogs are the first to enter hostile buildings or encounter hidden explosive devices. Hopefully they subdue the enemy fighters or detect the booby-trap bomb for safe disposal. Because they are the first-in, these dogs are often targeted by enemy snipers or are injured during their attack on enemy occupants of buildings. Many are wounded by explosives that are manually detonated from afar or by suicide attack. Like their human counterparts, these dogs need medical care. The stages of treatment for military dogs are just like that seen on M.A.S.H. and relived every day in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Stage 1 Treatment
The first line of treatment for military dogs is the field medical staff. They are treated by the same medics that attend to the wounded soldiers. The military, with the help of veterinarians like Dr. Giles, have developed training programs for medics so they can adequately stabilize and/or treat wounded dogs in the field. If the injury is minor, military dogs are treated in the field like soldiers and immediately returned to duty. If the injury requires veterinary care, the dogs are evacuated by land or air to the next stage of medical treatment.

Stage 2 Treatment
Stage 2 treatment areas can be any makeshift location and is staffed by one veterinarian and his or her support staff. These facilities are very limited compared to your veterinary hospital, so it requires veterinarians to be imaginative and creative in their care of wounded patients. Dr. Giles showed a slide of intravenous tubing used to temporarily replace a section of severed artery until a dog could be transported to a facility that could perform an arterial graft. For this dog, treatment was in Germany and, ultimately, the U.S. Those dogs that cannot be adequately treated and returned to duty from a Stage 2 treatment area are then moved to the next level of veterinary care.

Stage 3 Treatment
Dr. Giles, a board certified veterinary surgeon, works at a Stage 3 treatment facility when he is deployed to Afghanistan. He works with only one other veterinarian as the staffing for these hospitals is limited to two doctors, of any specialty, and their support staff. 

Dr. Giles's hospital is a tent, just like in M.A.S.H. Fortunately, his hospital is adjacent to a human hospital and, when possible, he uses that facility for advanced care of his patients. Because this is the highest level of veterinary care in a war zone, Dr. Giles treats the most serious cases that need extended hospital care. As mentioned in the previous post, the attack dogs require the presence of their handlers at all times in order to control them for treatment. The bond between handlers and their dogs is incredible. Dr. Giles showed multiple slides of handlers curled up on the floor, on cots, or in any makeshift area in his hospital tent with their dogs, who were hooked up to fluids or other lifesaving equipment.

Many stage 3 wounded are treated, repaired, and returned to combat, but some are flown to the American military medical hospital in Germany for more treatment, or are finally flown to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

Source: Pet MD / Dr. Tudor

TFH Publications, Inc./Nylabone Products Recalls Puppy Starter Kit Due To Possible Salmonella Health Risk 
Contact:
Consumer:
1-877-273-7527

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 22, 2015 - TFH Publications, Inc./Nylabone Products, of Neptune, NJ is recalling one lot of its 1.69 oz. package of the Puppy Starter Kit dog chews, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.Salmonella can affect animals ingesting the product and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

The recalled Puppy Starter Kit consists of one lot of dog chews that were distributed nationwide, to Canada, and through one domestic online mail order facility.

The product comes in a 1.69 oz. package marked with Lot #21935, UPC 0-18214-81291-3, located on the back of the package, and with an expiration date of 3/22/18 also stamped on the back of the package.

The potential for contamination was noted after routine testing by the company revealed the presence of Salmonella in one lot of 1.69 oz. packages of the Puppy Starter Kit.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

Consumers who have purchased 1.69 oz. packages of the Puppy Starter Kit from affected Lot 21935, UPC 0-18214-81291-3, Expiration date of 3/22/18, should discontinue use of the product and may return the unused portion to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-877-273-7527, Monday through Friday from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Central time (after hours/weekends covered by third-party poison control center).

Source: FDA

It’s been reported that up to 79 percent of pet owners allow pets to share beds with their human family members. Despite the popularity of the practice, physician and veterinary groups have taken turns speaking out against human-pet bed sharing for a variety of reasons. Let's take a look why.

In the case of some physician groups, the warnings are human health based. Confirmed transmission of MRSA skin infections and H1N1 influenza, for example, gives fodder to the speculation that humans who share the covers with their furred family members are more likely to become ill.

While this is certainly more of a possibility with immunosuppressed humans (HIV-positive, transplant recipients, or chemotherapy patients, for example), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer no explicit warnings on this issue beyond the standard warnings for these immunocompromised groups of people.

In fact, when it comes to infectious disease transmission, physicians and veterinarians agree there is scant evidence that healthy, well cared for pets are detrimental to human health under these circumstances. Indeed, human family members are much more likely to transmit diseases to each other during bed-sharing than our pets are.

SO IT'S OK TO SLEEP WITH MY PET?
Not exactly.

"Although uncommon with healthy pets," the CDC wrote in a 2011 report, "the risk of transmission of zoonotic agents [those transmitted from animal to human] by close contact between pets and their owners through bed sharing, kissing or licking is real and has been documented for life-threatening infections such as plague."

Some veterinarians also believe that allowing dogs to sleep on human beds is a not a good thing, behaviorally speaking. Puppies that are more prone to issues with aggression may fully develop these behaviors when allowed to sleep with humans. Housebreaking may also be affected if beds take the place of crates, for example. That’s why bed-sharing should always be delayed until training is complete and social maturity is achieved, behaviorists suggest.

SAFETY TIPS FOR SLEEPING WITH A PET
To reduce the health risks associated with bed sharing and other close contact with a pet, the CDC recommends that pets have regular veterinary care. This should include keeping up to date with vaccinations, treating illnesses with medications, and using flea and tick preventives, since often fleas and ticks carry bacteria and diseases that can also be transmitted to people.

Source: Pet MD / Dr. Patty Khuly

Opossums are known for their ability to withstand the bite of almost any kind of snake, and now a team of scientists from San Jose State University has managed to isolate a protein from the blood of the little critters that shows promise as an anti-venom.

Snakebites Are a Global Problem and Expensive to Treat
Poisonous snakebites are a significant problem worldwide, especially in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), recent estimates suggest that over 420,000 venomous bites and 20,000 deaths from snakebite occur each year.

However, WHO warns that those numbers could be as high as over 1.8 million and 94,000, respectively, with the highest number of snakebites occurring in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.1

Snakebite treatment is costly and many people simply don’t have access to it. Most anti-venoms are created by injecting dilute venom into a mammal, which results in an immune response. The animal’s blood serum is then processed and made injectable for snakebite victims.

The injected serum scavenges toxic molecules in the bite victim’s blood. These treatments typically run $100 to $150 per dose, which is more than many people in developing countries can afford.

It’s Not Yet Known Exactly How the Opossum Protein Defends Against Snake Venom
In the San Jose State experiment, venom-exposed mice given the opossum peptide showed no ill effects from the poison, whereas untreated mice died within a matter of hours.

According to Claire Komives, study leader, “Basically, the venom was completely neutralized.”2

The mechanism by which the opossum peptide acts against snake venom is not fully understood. Most snake venom contains more than one toxin, so it seems unlikely the peptide works by binding to a single toxin. Komives theorizes the venom protein may bind to the opossum protein, rendering it no longer toxic.

Newly Discovered Antidote Could Cost Just $1 Per Dose
To create the antidote, the researchers had the protein chemically synthesized. They programmed E. coli bacteria to manufacture the first 11 amino acids of the protein that are known to keep opossums immune to snake venom. Use of E. colibacteria will also make the antidote inexpensive to produce in large quantities.

The researchers discovered that their antidote protected mice from the venom of the U.S. Western Diamondback rattlesnake, and also the deadly Russell’s viper native to Pakistan.

More research is needed to determine if the anti-venom will work in humans, and the process will have to be refined before the antidote becomes commercially available. But the researchers estimate each dose will cost $1 or less, which is a significantly savings over other anti-venoms.

Source: Healthy Pets / Dr. Becker

Hyperthyroidism is the most common hormonal abnormality in cats, causing the thyroid gland to become overactive and produce excess amounts of thyroid hormone. Fortunately, a more recent discovery has made the way to treat the disease easier for veterinarians, while also making the costs of treatment less expensive on the cat owner.

Traditional treatments included radioactive iodine treatment to inactivate the tumor cells that cause excess secretion of thyroid hormone, or medication to suppress hormone secretion. Several years ago, it was found that a limited iodine diet was just as effective as the traditional methods of treating hyperthyroidism in cats. The solution was revolutionary and substantially reduced the costs of treating this condition.

Hyperthyroidism and Limited Iodine Diets for Cats
The thyroid hormone regulates body metabolism. Older cats with microscopic tumors of the thyroid gland secrete excess thyroid hormone, which increases metabolism. This excess secretion results in an increased appetite with weight loss. Affected cats often beg for more food and arouse owners late at night with howls of hunger. These cats also drink lots of water and have increased urination. The increased metabolic rate also causes an increased heart rate and an eventual heart murmur due to heart malfunction. The increased metabolic rate also affects kidney function and these cats are often in secondary kidney failure when the condition is diagnosed.

Recent research found that limiting iodine in the diet of hyperthyroid cats decreased thyroid hormone production and the resulting harmful side effects. This treatment approach was more affordable and as reliable as the traditional treatment methods. The proof is in the research.

Research Findings on Limited Iodine Diets for Cats
A study published in the International Journal of Applied Research last year (A Restricted Iodine Food Reduces Circulating Thyroxine Concentrations in Cats with Hyperthyroidism) found that after being fed a limited iodine diet over a 12-week period, half of the cats with hyperthyroidism at the beginning of the study were euthyroid, or had normal thyroid gland function. The randomized and blinded study enrolled 33 cats – 18 on the restricted iodine diet and 15 in the control group.

These results show that over 12 weeks, feeding a limited iodine food reduces serum thyroid hormone concentrations in hyperthyroid cats without negatively affecting other measures of health. Feeding a limited  iodine food warrants further study as a treatment option for feline hyperthyroidism.

Will Limited Iodine Diets Harm My Other Cat(s)?
At the Academy of Veterinary Internal Medicine Symposium last year, I had an opportunity to meet with scientists who had developed the limited iodine diet and had done research into the effects of this diet on normal cats. Their findings were extremely encouraging.

Admittedly, their research population was limited, with 15 cats receiving a diet with adequate iodine and 15 receiving limited amounts of iodine. But they did extend the research period to 18 months. This is far longer than most nutritional studies. Their findings concluded that no health problems were noted for healthy cats on a limited iodine food.   

The researchers admit that longer studies are necessary to conclusively prove that iodine-deficient diets are safe for normal cats. However, this research suggests that owners of a hyperthyroid cat in a multi-cat household do not have to make Herculean efforts to ensure dietary segregation and can even feed the same food for all members of the household. Of course, caution should be taken for kittens exposed to limited iodine diets. Their sensitivity could certainly result in problems and access to limited iodine foods should be restricted until research in this group has been conducted.

Source: PetMD / Dr. Tudor

Is your pet shy or a social butterfly? Many experts say that they key to having a well-behaved dog or cat is socialization — here's how to get started.

Veterinarians can tell if an animal has been socialized the moment they walk into an exam room.

“Some animals come bounding up and are happy to see me and everyone in the waiting room,” says Bonnie V. Beaver, DVM, professor in the department of small animal clinical sciences at Texas A&M University in College Station, and past president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. “Others hide behind their owner and don’t want to come out. Life is stressful for them.”

And socialization helps make the difference. When puppies and kittens are introduced to a variety of people, other animals, and environments during the first several weeks of life, they tend to do better, and have less stress and fewer problems later on.

Think about everything your pet will be exposed to during life: different people, animals, places, situations, cars, noises, and smells. When they’re puppies or kittens, they take new experiences with stride. But as they get older they quickly start to become nervous and scared when confronted with something or someone new.

Why Socialize Your Pet?

Animals are preprogrammed to become fearful of people and things that aren’t part of their everyday life so they react appropriately when they are in danger. But you can introduce a new dog or new cat to a variety of situations when it’s very young so it doesn’t live its life afraid of straying from its neighborhood or meeting new people.

When you do, your pet will be more laid back and can enjoy life. Pets are also safer once they’re socialized because they’re less likely to react in a fearful or aggressive way when they’re faced with something new.

How To Socialize Your Pet

The key to socializing dogs and cats is to start very young and to introduce your new dog or new cat to as many different things as you can. Here’s what to do:

• Start at a few weeks of age. Puppies and kittens need to be socialized before they are16 weeks old. “We have a tendency to isolate them at that time and expect that at a year we’ll get them used to cars and different environments,” Dr. Beaver says. The ideal time for this kind of pet training is between 3 and 12 weeks of age. The window of opportunity to socialize your pet usually closes around 18 weeks. For kittens it may be even younger, Beaver says. 
  Unfortunately, when you adopt an adult dog you’ve missed the opportunity to socialize. But even adult dogs can get used to individuals they see on a regular basis, Beaver says.
• Set goals. Think about who and what a puppy will be around when it gets older and make a long list the things your pet needs to be socialized to. That means children, adults, men, women, crying babies, people of different nationalities, crowds, people wearing hats, and people not wearing hats, Beaver says. The wider the variety of people you can expose your puppy or kitten to, the better.
• Include different environments. Have your puppy walk on grass, concrete, through buildings like pet stores, on busy streets, quiet streets, areas with other animals — and near cars, trucks, buses, and trains. You can even take your dog for rides in the car through different areas of town, through fast-food drive-thrus, and through car washes. This is also the time to get your dog used to be handled during grooming.

Check out this checklist of things to expose your dog to.

Kittens can also be socialized by having people come to your house or by bringing your kitten to other people’s houses, although it’s better to visit someone who doesn’t already have a cat.

Socialization Tips

When you’re ready to begin socializing your dog or cat, keep in mind these tips for success:

• Do it daily. Ideally, you should try to socialize your pet every day during the first 16 weeks. When strangers approach, let them pet your dog.
• Get them used to carriers. If you want your kitten to grow into a cat who doesn’t mind going to the vet, leave its carrier out for playtime. Carry the kitten from one side of the house to the other and give your cat treats in the carrier, Beaver says.
• Reward your pet. Make your puppy or kitten feel good about new things by praising it during socialization and giving it small treats (break up a normal size treat into small pieces so your pet doesn’t get too many calories).
• Give it about 75 minutes. Puppies and kittens are constantly learning; they become socialized to new things within 75 minutes of being exposed to them, Beaver says.
• Be gentle. It’s important to keep a close eye on your pet’s reaction to new things. Don’t force it if a situation seems too overwhelming and scary for your pet. Your pet may need to be exposed to that particular thing more gradually.
• Go to kindergarten. If your dog hasn’t received all of its vaccinations, consider signing up for puppy socialization classes at an animal hospital, Beaver says. It’s a safe environment for your dog to be in because it will be surrounded by well-vaccinated dogs, she says. The classes are designed to introduce your pet to a variety of sights and sounds and can even help with obedience training.
• Go for pet training. You can socialize your pet on your own, but if you need help outside of a puppy kindergarten class, consider hiring a pet trainer.

Socializing dogs and cats this way ensures that they’re better adjusted as adults and may be easier to train because they’re less distracted by fear, Beaver says.

Source: Everyday Health /  Marie Suszynski 

Are you getting a little tired of watching the FDA pet recall list to make sure your pet’s food isn’t on it? Since December 31, 2014, seven different pet foods or treats have been recalled due to Salmonella or Listeria bacteria. Unfortunately, this matches the normal recall activity of about 20 to 25 recalls per year for pet food. A protein with antibiotic properties found in mushrooms that grow on horse poop may soon change things.

The Benefits of Copsin
Due to grazing, the dung of horses is home to a rich variety of microscopic organisms, including fungi and bacteria. A fungal mushroom called Coprinopsis cinerea grows readily on horse feces. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich isolated a protein from the mushroom’s cap called “copsin.” They found that the protein inhibited the growth of bacteria and acted like an antibiotic. Oh, by the way, copro- is a Greek prefix for dung or feces, hence the name of the fungus and the protein.

As it turns out, copsin belongs to a class of proteins called defensins that are produced by many biological species. In fact humans produce defensins in the skin and on mucous membranes to kill disease causing micro-organisms.

What sets copsin apart from other defensin is that it is extremely stable under conditions that destroy other proteins. It can be boiled to 100 degrees Fo, subjected to strong acids for hours, and treated with very aggressive enzymes, without affecting its antibiotic properties. Says lead researcher Andreas Essig: “This feature allows us to, for example, also go into applications in food industry, food preservation, productions where strong acids in high temperatures are very common.”

Copsin is particularly deadly to Listeria, so its potential benefit to the pet food industry is a bit of a no-brainer.

Like the newly discovered teixobactin I recently posted about, copsin rapidly kills bacteria by inhibiting their ability to form a cell wall. This method of destruction makes it extremely difficult for bacteria to readily develop resistance. Listeriahas enjoyed great successes in causing food poisoning in pets and humans due to its ability to become resistant to common antibiotics.

Co-researcher Markus Aebi is not certain that copsin could also be used like other traditional antibiotics, but its role in antibiotic research is very important. He is intrigued by what he calls the fundamental question of how fungi have used defensins and other naturally antibiotic substances for millions of years to protect themselves against bacteria, while antibiotics used in modern medicine have developed resistance in just 70 years, reports Jim Drury, who covered the story of copsin for Reuters news service. 

Don’t look for copsin to appear on your pet food ingredient list soon though. Senior scientist Paul Kallio says, “We are growing Pichia pastoris, which is a methylotrophic yeast, and in this yeast we are producing copsin.”

Kallio says it takes five days to cultivate, harvest, and extract copsin. If copsin proves useful for the safety of pet food, it will require the development of faster methods for producing much larger quantities.

Source: Pet MD / Dr. Tudor

The Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control is reporting that there have been more than 1,000 cases of canine influenza in the Chicago area in recent weeks. Unfortunately, five dogs have died from the flu during this outbreak.

Canine influenza is a relatively new disease having first been diagnosed in a group of racing greyhounds in 2004. It developed after the equine influenza virus mutated and gained the ability to spread from dog to dog. The disease has been reported in most states and in Washington, D.C. Chicago is just the latest hotspot.

For most dogs, the symptoms associated with canine influenza are indistinguishable from what we traditionally call “kennel cough” — a condition that can be caused by a variety of germs like the parainfluenza virus, or Bordetella bronchiseptica bacteria. All of these respiratory infections typically make dogs cough, sneeze, have a runny nose, lose their appetite, and be somewhat lethargic, but a small proportion of dogs do go on to develop pneumonia, some of whom die. A laboratory test can determine whether a dog with signs of a respiratory infection has the flu or another condition.

Treatment for canine influenza generally consists of supportive care, rest, and antibiotics to prevent or treat secondary bacterial infections. Severely affected dogs may need to be hospitalized for oxygen therapy and other forms of more aggressive treatment.

In light of the current outbreak, what can owners do to protect their dogs from canine influenza?

If you live in the Chicago area…

1. Keep your dogs as isolated as possible — no doggie daycare, trips to the dog park, stays at the kennel, etc. It is important to realize that dogs may have the virus in their bodies and be contagious even if they don’t show signs of illness. Also, people can transport the virus from one dog to another even though we can’t get sick from it ourselves. Anyone (including you!) who has had contact with other dogs should wash their hands thoroughly before touching your dog.

2. Make sure your dogs are up to date on their canine influenza vaccines. Your dogs may not have gotten this vaccine in the past because it is considered “non-core,” meaning that it is generally only given to dogs who are at higher than average risk for the disease. Dogs in the Chicago area are definitely now at higher than average risk! A previously unvaccinated dog should receive two inoculations 2-4 weeks apart. Annual boosters are recommended unless a dog’s risk factors decrease. The canine influenza vaccine doesn’t necessarily prevent dogs from becoming infected with the virus, but it does significantly reduce the severity of disease that can develop as a result.

If you don’t live in the Chicago area…

Stay calm. Ask your local veterinarian whether he or she knows if dogs are being diagnosed with canine influenza in your area. If your town is influenza-fee and you have no plans to travel with your dog in the near future, your dog does not need a canine influenza vaccine and can continue with its normal routine. If canine influenza has been seen in your area and your dog has significant dog to dog contact, talk to your veterinarian to determine whether or not vaccination is in your dog’s best interests.

Source: Pet MD 

Being a successful search-and-rescue (SAR) dog and handler requires intense training. There are a kennel’s worth of commitments and sacrifices involved, say the experts. The first consideration is the age, breed and temperament of your dog. Because young dogs are easier to train, “you need to start as early as possible during puppyhood,” said Ken Chiacchia, the Pittsburgh, Pa.-based owner of Sophia, a two-year-old female German shepherd, and Pip, an eight-year-old female English shepherd.

An older dog can be properly trained if it has already established a good working relationship with its owner. Older dogs trained for police and security work can also be good candidates for search and rescue (SAR) missions, provided they are not aggressive and can be trained not to bite or attack rescue victims on command.

A dog of nearly any breed can be trained for specific SAR missions, said Harry Oakes, owner of International K-9 Search and Rescue Services, a training and SAR-for-hire company based in Longview, Wash.

Larger dogs such as Labradors, German shepherds and golden retrievers are popular choices for the rugged and demanding nature of many of these jobs, including water, wilderness and avalanche rescues.

“But medium-sized dogs like border collies and Australian Kelpies seem to live longer and do well in all aspects of SAR,” Oakes said. “And small dogs are great for disaster work – they can get into tight spaces.”

Teaching a young dog old tricksAccording to the Centreville, Va.-based National Association for Search and Rescue, training typically takes a year before a dog and its handler are ready for SAR missions. Some trainers, such as Oakes, are more rigorous in their stipulations.

“Our program requires a minimum of four hours of training a week with your dog for 18 months,” he said. To attain “expert” status, that time span stretches to six years.

Oakes says dozens of private and public SAR training organizations exist around the country to educate future handlers. Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency offers an urban SAR certification program for dogs and handlers.

After the minimum training is completed and you gain certification from that organization or individual trainer, “you have to get certified as a search-and-rescue team member by your county sheriff’s office if you want to get called out on search-and-rescue missions in your county,” Oakes said. “In our area, for example, this is a 40-hour program.”

Your homework doesn’t stop there, however. Once trained, “you typically spend 10 hours a week keeping your dog in shape and ready to work at peak performance,” said Michael Lueck, a member of the Search One Rescue Team in Dallas, Texas. “A rescue situation can happen any time, anywhere, so you need to be ready at all times.”

Cash commitmentSAR involvement can total up to $4,000 a year or more in out-of-pocket expenses, said Debbie Palman, game warden specialist in Aurora, Maine, who owns an 8-year-old male German shepherd SAR tracking dog named Alex.

“I’m lucky, because I get paid to do this professionally, but I also do it on the side as a volunteer,” Palman said. “But most people do it strictly on a volunteer basis.”

“There are no municipalities in the United States where there’s enough business to do search and rescues and make a profit,” Chiacchia said. “The only people really making money doing this are being paid by the government as law enforcement personnel, firefighters or rangers.”

Making a differenceSo, if there are no greenbacks to be made from becoming a search-and-rescue dog team, why do it?

Chiacchia says SAR volunteers do it “out of the kindness of their hearts to make a difference in the lives of others. Let’s face it – there aren’t a whole lot of boy scouts out there.”

Most people do it “because they really love spending time with their dogs,” Palman said. “It’s also nice to have a talent or ability that few other people have.”

Ultimately, asks Oakes, “What can be more rewarding than the ability to use your dog and your own skills to help save a life or bring closure to a family’s suffering?”

Source: webvet