JENGA ON THE SCENT
Dog joins search-and-rescue team
Saskatoon Search and Rescue (SSAR) has added a new fourlegged member to its ranks.
Jenga, a three-year-old female golden retriever, has been training for her search and rescue certification for two years, alongside handler and owner Kate Dean.
Earning certification from the Search and Rescue Dog Association of Alberta in August, Jenga is now the ideal candidate to aid police in searches for missing people.
“It’s a game changer for us,” said SSAR president Shelley Ballardmckinlay. “The vast majority of our calls are for missing elderly people with dementia, young kids with autism or just very young kids certified for wilderness, urban and building searches. Once given the command to search, she tracks the person using “air scenting.” If Jenga successfully locates the missing person, she will lie down and bark to communicate the location to Dean and other SSAR volunteers.
“She doesn’t do any sort of apprehension,” Dean said. “She’s a very friendly dog, she wags and likes to rub on people a lot, but she has no sort of bite and hold profiles ... when she’s not working she likes to swim, she likes to cuddle, and if she can get away with it, she likes to sneak in a kiss here and there.”
Both Dean and Ballard-mckinlay noted how useful Jenga will be when searching large, wide-open areas like the riverbank, golf courses or parks where humans would have a much harder time searching as quickly and efficiently.
Dean, who works as a veterinary technician by day and search and rescue volunteer in her off hours, was the driving force behind getting and keeping Jenga trained and certified so she can continue to locate missing people and pass the required recertification tests every two years.
“We train regularly with Search and Rescue Dog Association of Alberta and will continue to do that and we also train locally here five to seven days a week, one to three hours a day,” Dean said.