Earthquake rescue dogs

Fri, 11 May 2007

In Scotland, dogs are being trained as a part of a rescue team that can work together to locate people in the aftermath of an earthquake.

Dogs at the Arthurshiels dog shelter at St Boswells, are trained as a part of response team that will be working to locate people in earthquake affected areas.

Seismologists are predicting a huge earthquake in the area.

Tom Middlemas, who runs an animal rescue centre, recently won a contract with Turkey's civil defence unit for their support in earthquake affected areas. This happened after the German Red Cross gave the Turkish government a recommendation.

Mr. Middlemas has specialised in search and rescue training for dogs and has travelled the world helping emergency teams.

He said, "The last major earthquake in Turkey was in 1999 and they are expecting another soon. Border collies are extremely quick to learn and so are very well suited to search and rescue work."

"The dogs are vital for helping to detect people trapped under rubble. They can sniff out a human being trapped under thousands of tonnes of rubble when a machine can't."

He added, "The dogs are invaluable. It is essential that the dog can get to areas affected by earthquakes in the first 12 to 24 hours to make sure lives are saved."

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