LOST IN CALEDON?
SEND OUT THE DOGS
By JORDAN H. GREEN If you're ever lost in the forest, maybe LOST will find you. LOST -- Lower Ontario Search Team -- is a volunteer search and rescue dog team that trains in Caledon East. "The most important, the bottom line, the mission statement is so others may live," said John Ryan, the team's volunteer leader. "It's what we deal with, there's no better feeling than seeing the reunification of a lost child with its mom or vice-a-versa. It's quite a moving experience, especially when they are alive." The 18 volunteer members and their Dobermans run training exercises in an industrial building donated by the landlord. Dogs and their owners are led by Ryan in various exercises, everything from sitting and staying while being distracted, to climbing over obstacles. Smell is the key -- over two-thirds of a dog's brain is used for smell -- according to Ryan. "We decay by millions of particles per day," ex- plained Ryan. "A dog can pick this up like a blind man can smell coffee. We always leave a residue." Not only do we leave our scent trail wherever we go, just like fingerprints and snowflakes, each person has a different smell. "Everybody has a different scent, just like finger- prints," said Ryan. "We all have our unique signature." Once the dogs have mastered the indoor training, they are put to work in the elements outdoors. "You'll find us in the farmers fields in Caledon East, you'll find us in the farmers fields in the Haliburton area, you'll find us around Durham . . . I like to keep changing the venue as much as we can," said Ryan. "You may have to get familiar with different foods, or different smells or different sounds. The dog must know how to work in all conditions." A volunteer from the group goes and hides in a field. As he walks through the field, he is leaving behind not just his scent for the dog, but also orange markers to show the trainers which route he took. Once the volunteer has found a hiding place, the dog and his master are kept apart for about 15 to 20 minutes, letting the scent deteriorate a bit and making the search more of an instant call to action. Eventually, the dog and handler are led to the field and an item of the 'missing' person's is given to the dog in a scent tube so that the dog knows what to sniff for. "The dog can't touch what's in it, but the scent is released through the holes," said Ryan about the scent tube. Then the search is on -- running through slick and slimy muddy fields, through claustrophobic forests, through rain, sleet or snow -- the dog's nose leads the handler and trainer Ryan to the person. Upon finding their decoy, the dog is rewarded with loving praise and doggie treats. Search and rescue dogs are used to find people through fallen wreckage as in the earthquake in Japan, to find evidence at crime scenes such as a murder weapon, or to find drugs or bombs at airports. But the most common search and rescue here in Ontario are land searches for missing people. "Fido goes after a rabbit so your little boy starts following him," explained Ryan. "He's only five-years-old. All of a sudden he runs three to four minutes, effectively he's now lost. "Fido knows how to get home," smiles Ryan, as he demonstrates by making a sniffing noise. "He goes back the way he came, but your little kid is all alone and he gets cold and screaming." Someone calls 911 and the police call Ryan. Ryan finds the closest dog and owner to the area and meets over at the site asking for something with a scent on it. "I want his pillow case, 'oh we washed it,' okay give me a sock, a shoe, anything that a child has," said Ryan. "We'll find out what dog is closest in that area to get on the track. That's you're best chance of finding something, with a dog's nose." Even if a person has been missing for a few days, the dogs still have a shot of finding them. "A scent lasts for days and days and days," said Ryan. "Today, I get my son to take a walk in that field and keep walking. I expect that scent to last, it'll be hugged to the ground because precipitation will keep it there. A windy, dry, dusty day is when the scent will dissipate, it'll be blown around." The dogs and their handlers not only carry identification, but also their own supplies. "They'll carry their own food and water, we're gone for a few days, there is only so much that we can carry," said Ryan. "We'll have a few things that I'll need, a few treats for the dog, light sticks. I've always got two days supply with me." The dogs wear neon-bright orange vests with the word 'rescue' on it to keep them from being mistaken by hunters as wild game. Although the dogs are trained for search and rescue, they too have a home life. "When I come here it's business, at home he gets training but it's his home also so he's got his home life and his work life," said Chris Fridge, a volunteer from Brampton about his dog Max. "When we're out training, we're out to train, when we're at home it's more relaxed. Ryan, an aircraft technician by trade with over 15-years of experience in search and rescue, started LOST in 1996. "I've worked with search teams in Europe, this is what got me into this in the Black Forest," said Ryan. "We're hooked up with different groups." There are about 1,000 search and rescue affiliates across North America and Ryan's group networks with most of them, participating in training missions and contests. Last April, four dogs from LOST went to Austria for a seminar. Out of the 75 dogs from 17 countries, LOST's dogs were the only Canadian ones. Ryan not only trains dogs for search and rescue, he also breeds them. "I am a kennel master, I raise my Dobermans and sell them around the world," he said. "No less than 60 break and enters, rapes and house invasions were prevented because of my dogs, in Metro." If you ever do find yourself lost, Ryan gives these words of wisdom -- hug-a-tree. "At one time or another in your life if you ever find yourself lost and you don't know where you are, stay by the tree. That way the searches won't be chasing circles. "You know sometimes when you get lost, you'll say 'oh I'll follow that brooke,' that brooke turns into a swamp in the middle of nowhere and you're still lost. But all of sudden you've expended X number amounts of calories and energy, you've lost a lot of heat so you sit down and conserve your energy. . . . You know you're going to be found because you know there are people out there who know you are missing."
