In the ashes of what was once a luxury home on the Pacific coast of Malibu, an energetic dog runs from place to place, searching for victims of the massive wildfire that devastated Los Angeles. Tulla, a sandy-colored Labrador retriever, stops near a crusted gas canister that was once probably part of a barbecue, and begins barking furiously.
To the human eye, there is nothing there, but the Tula’s powerful sense of smell says otherwise.
Moments later, the handlers bring in another dog, which remains in the same location, giving a strong indication that the body of one of the dozens of people still missing from the massive fire may have finally been found.
Marco Rodriguez of the Los Angeles County Fire Department says the dogs are “vital” to the search effort.
“We have thousands of houses here in this area that have been burnt and about 15 people are reported missing.
“We are doing our best and the dogs are an integral part of that,” he told AFP.
For the thousands of firefighters working 12 or even 24-hour shifts, the last ten days have been back-breaking; The hard physical labor was made even more difficult for those who watched as parts of their city burned.
But for dogs, it’s like a game, says Joshua Davis, who has deployed Bosco — a black Labrador — from his base in San Francisco.
“They’re used to crawling on the debris. They enjoy it,” he said.
Although there is no emotional impact on the animals, there are physical dangers that require special protective boots to protect their paws.
“There’s a lot of sharp glass and a lot of nails and debris that can injure dogs,” Davis said.
‘Just like every other firefighter’
Dogs in a search and rescue unit have a routine similar to that of the humans they work with, Davis said.
“Every day we go to work, he gets a meal, just like every other firefighter,” he said.
“He gets training on different things and we do daily exercises with him, so he knows how to run on a treadmill and he can climb stairs.”
When he’s not on operations, Bosco maintains his skills with a weekly session in a simulated disaster zone, where instructors hide scents for him to find.
Bosco was originally trained to be a guide dog, but he “failed miserably” because he had too much energy, Davis said. But that energy makes him perfect for exploration – where the dog has learned to associate exploring the scent with the opportunity to play with his favorite toy. In Bosco’s case, that’s a piece of fire hose.
Davis said, “When they get the scent, they’ll bark at it. I’ll approach the victim and/or the source where they’re barking, and then I’ll give Bosco a reward.”
Dogs are not infallible and have false alarms, but overall they significantly reduce the amount of work done by humans.
“Many dogs out here today can cover a collapsed building in five minutes or less,” Davis said.
“It can take four to five firefighters 10 to 20 minutes to cover a location.”
For Bosco, who has worked with Davis for three years exploring countless properties, it’s not all serious work. In his spare time, he has a successful Instagram feed, where followers can see what he is up to.
This week, one of his stories showed Bosco sitting in a car, looking excitedly out the window, with an apt caption: “Ready to work, boss!”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
