Dog owners worldwide will attest to the incredible loyalty
and companionship that canines offer to humans. The age
old phrase ‘man’s best friend’ has been
confirmed throughout the ages by faithful sheep dogs, disciplined
scout dogs, determined search and rescue dogs, and most
definitely the friendly family pet.
When given responsible care and training, domesticated
dogs can be the most helpful and sociable creatures in the
fold. Just how aptly has the canine race earned the title
of man’s best friend? At the very least, dogs offer
lessons of trust, love and duty to young children, give
the elderly something to keep busy and care for, lead the
blind through a dark world, and offer companionship to anyone
willing to take the time.
Because they are eager to please the “leader of the
pack” canines have been successfully trained to aid
and rescue people in all types of dangerous situations.
They find lost children in the snow, rescue skiers who never
would have returned, and search for lost hikers in the woods.
They sift through the wreckage of bombing sites and battlefields
for the injured and missing in action.
They offer comfort and joy to the sick and elderly in hospitals,
shelters, and nursing homes. They stood at the very edge
of the battlefront for more than 4,000 years. With their
strict training and honing of tracking skills, dogs are
often more effective in search and rescue teams than are
humans.
Today, several organizations, both federal and volunteer,
focus on training dogs for a variety of rescue missions.
Avalanche dogs help to find anything lost in the snow. When
scouts or lost hikers don't come home, wilderness dogs are
used to find them. There are also cadaver dogs, which are
mainly used in missing persons cases where the likely outcome
will be a dead body. Two major search and rescue dog training
groups are NASAR and SEMA USAR. The U.S. military also maintains
police dogs.
Resue dogs were there to pull victims out of the devastation
of Ground Zero in New York, working 16 hour days, sifting
through sites too unstable for human search teams.
There are now groups that organize owners and their dogs
to visit hospitals and other institutions to help cheer
the injured or elderly. They're called "therapy dogs."
Patients look forward to the periodic visits that give them
hope and a furry paw to hold!
Dogs have more than fulfilled the title of "man's
best friend," saving millions of lives throughout civilization,
and bringing hope where all hope is lost.
