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Search and Rescue dog Stormi and handler Megan Gehrman track the scent of a “missing” person along Main Street Cambridge during a recent training session.
It only takes the dogs a one-second sniff of a person's article of clothing for them to recognize that person's scent.
Hider Nancy Lehmann walks through the Cambridge City Center Mall parking lot, leaving a scent trail...
...that Stormi was able to trail along the same path.
Loki trails a 16-hour old scent "at mach 10," forcing handler Jason Gehrman and observer Megan to try and keep up along the sidewalks in downtown Cambridge.
Loki sits at the doorfront of Mugg and Brush, indicating to handler Jason Gehrman that the scent he is trailing ends there.
Zoey sits beside hider Nancy Lehmann inside Scout and Morgan Bookstore, indicating she has found the person she was searching for.
Zoey receives a well-deserved treat from handler Cheryl Lehman and pets from a young customer in the bookstore following a successful training session.
Members of Minnesota Search and Rescue Dog Association participating in a training session in Cambridge recently included (from left) Raven and handler AldieMeynard, handler Cheryl Lehman and Zoey, handler David Lehman and Cero, handler Megan Gehrman and Stormi, and handler Jason Gehrman and Loki.
Search and Rescue dog Stormi and handler Megan Gehrman track the scent of a “missing” person along Main Street Cambridge during a recent training session.
It only takes the dogs a one-second sniff of a person's article of clothing for them to recognize that person's scent.
Hider Nancy Lehmann walks through the Cambridge City Center Mall parking lot, leaving a scent trail...
...that Stormi was able to trail along the same path.
Loki trails a 16-hour old scent "at mach 10," forcing handler Jason Gehrman and observer Megan to try and keep up along the sidewalks in downtown Cambridge.
Loki sits at the doorfront of Mugg and Brush, indicating to handler Jason Gehrman that the scent he is trailing ends there.
Zoey sits beside hider Nancy Lehmann inside Scout and Morgan Bookstore, indicating she has found the person she was searching for.
Zoey receives a well-deserved treat from handler Cheryl Lehman and pets from a young customer in the bookstore following a successful training session.
Members of Minnesota Search and Rescue Dog Association participating in a training session in Cambridge recently included (from left) Raven and handler AldieMeynard, handler Cheryl Lehman and Zoey, handler David Lehman and Cero, handler Megan Gehrman and Stormi, and handler Jason Gehrman and Loki.
Normally a game of hide and seek has little at stake outside of perhaps bragging rights. But for the members of Minnesota Search and Rescue Dog Association, their weekly engagement in the game will most likely eventually lead to the difference between life and death.
MinnSARDA is the oldest volunteer canine search and rescue organization in Minnesota, having been established in 1981. Currently, the group is composed of five handler/dog teams. They, and other organizations like them, offer search and rescue services for missing persons to public safety agencies across the state at no cost to those agencies. Often, they are called to find people who are presumed alive, especially young children or vulnerable adults such as those suffering from Alzheimer’s or similar mental diseases. Dogs can also be trained and certified to search for cadavers. In total, the three MinnSARDA dogs who are certified were called upon 22 times last year.
Member Megan Gehrman explained how a dog uses its unique sense of smell to find a missing person. “When people walk, they drop skin cells, which is actually what the dog is smelling,” she said. “Each person has a unique scent. Dogs can discriminate against different scents. When a person walks into a pizza place, we smell the pizza. But a dog will smell all of the individual ingredients separately. At the beginning of a trail, we will give them a scent article — something the person we are looking for had on them, so it could be a shirt or pillowcase. They know that’s the exact scent they’re looking for.”
While almost any dog breed could technically be trained in search and rescue, Megan’s husband Jason, who is also an officer with the Wayzata Police Department, said a dog must have the right temperament and drive — being able to do the same thing over and over again. Some dogs, like his Malinois Loki, are driven by receiving their favorite toy. Others, like Cheryl Lehman’s dog Zoey, are food-driven.
The type of training the dog receives is also key. Jason, who has worked with K-9 officers, noted those dogs track people differently.
“Police K-9’s get out of a car and they smell adrenaline the suspect is dropping as they run,” he said. “They also smell ground disturbance. If I gave a police K-9 a scent and said ‘find this person,’ they would just look at you.”
Another major difference between the two is their indicator action that they have found the person. Police K-9’s will either bark or actually latch onto the person. However, considering the person being searched for by rescue dogs might get frightened even by a dog approaching them, Cheryl says all their dogs are trained to simply sit when they find the person.
Because of his familiarity with both K-9 officers and search and rescue dogs, Jason was able to apply for and receive a grant for both a police K-9 and for Loki, who is the only on-duty search and rescue dog in the state. Jason said this has already paid off tenfold.
“It makes me be able to respond faster, rather than having to go home and get my dog,” he said. “The normal response time can be up to an hour, (but) I can get there in 10 minutes.
“One time we were called to search for a 14-year-old girl who had run away from home. I got there 10 minutes after she left. And when Loki found her in the woods, she was just putting a noose around her neck. So it would have been a very different outcome if he wasn’t with me.”
Jason added he technically could have Loki search for suspects if they had a scent article to go by, however he would prefer to leave that to the police K-9s. “He (Loki) wouldn’t know how to defend himself.” But just in case, he does have a bullet and stab-proof vest for Loki.
Each dog/handler team is required to go through extensive training and then certification. According to handler David Lehman, they must get LETS (Law Enforcement Training) certification once a year. The initial certification encompasses a five-day, 40-hour process. Recertification encompasses three days and 24 hours. Additionally, handlers must pass a criminal background check and be first aid and CPR certified. It typically takes close to two years of training before a dog and handler are even ready to certify.
Besides that, the group will attend various national training conventions and are required to attend at least three of the organization’s training sessions per month. During these training sessions, the group utilizes volunteer hiders to go out and “get lost.”
Even these training sessions are very regimented. They are held in any weather conditions and a wide variety of environments such as wooded areas, open fields, the water, or as was the case recently in Cambridge, around downtowns. According to David, the idea is to throw as many different curveballs at the dogs as possible, because you never know what conditions an actual search will take place under. According to David, a person’s scent can be detected in any environment. In fact, contrary to a common myth, water is an excellent preservative of scents. He said the toughest conditions to trail under are actually when it is hot and dry.
For the Cambridge training, two hiders were utilized, including Nancy Lehmann of Cambridge. Nancy has volunteered to hide for the group before. “It’s so fun to see the excitement of the dogs when they find me,” she said.
Nancy was escorted from Ashland Apartments by David to Scout and Morgan Bookstore, where she hid inside the store. Originally, the training was going to start at City Park, however, that was shortened in the interest of not exposing Nancy to the cold for an extended period (the dogs, however, didn’t seem to care about the cold).
The hider needs to be escorted by someone so their exact route can be recorded on a cell phone app. Once in place, that route can be messaged to someone other than the handler of the dog who will be searching. That person will follow behind the handler and the dog as they search just to make sure the dog doesn’t go too far off course.
The second hider’s route was laid out the night before to simulate someone who might have gone missing for an extended time. Since scents do dissipate over time, this makes trailing tougher for the dogs, however, Cheryl noted she has seen a successful search as long as 40 hours after the scent was laid.
David said the dogs aren’t expected to perfectly follow the hider’s path. Certain conditions like a breeze or even airflow caused by passing cars can push the scent, causing the dog to veer off course temporarily. But as long as they pick it back up again without prompting from the observer, it is considered a successful trail. That was the case with Stormi, who was the first to look for Nancy. Once reaching North Main Street, Stormi started to head south rather than crossing. However, after a quick sniff around, Stormi quickly came back to the intersection and crossed the street. She again went off the path into the snow a short time later, but again the divergence was brief, and in no time flat, Stormi was making a beeline through the City Center Mall parking lot to the bookstore’s door.
Loki, who the entire group acknowledged tracks at “mach 10” once he picks up on the scent, likewise made short work of the tougher, older scent trail, which ended at Mugg and Brush.
Zoey was next to search for Nancy, and besides sitting at the feet of this reporter rather than Nancy at the end of the search, her attempt was considered a success. (In defense of Zoey, there was a fair amount of petting of her by myself before the searches began, so she probably had come to recognize my scent too.)
Finally, Cero successfully navigated the older scent trail.
While cautioning being part of MinnSARDA isn’t for everyone due to the extensive time and financial commitments, the organization is always looking for new members. Anyone who thinks they and their dogs have what it takes to be a certified tracker can contact the group through email at minnsardak9@gmail.com or by going to their Facebook page.
The group can also always use more hiders, which doesn’t require as much of a commitment. However, it does entail being willing to be out in the elements for up to several hours and be able to walk a minimum of one-half mile over a variety of terrain. Anyone interested in making themselves available as a hider can contact them at the same email address.
MinnSARDA is a 501c3 non-profit organization, so donations are always graciously accepted. Checks can be sent to 120 Broadway Avenue S., Wayzata, MN, 55391, or by going to the organization’s website at www.minnsarda.com.
Cero - a 9-year-old German shepherd who is LETS certified in trailing. Handler David is SAR Tech II/III
Zoey - a 10-year-old German shepherd who is LETS certified in trailing. Handler Cheryl is SAR Tech II/III
Loki - a Belgian malinois who is LETS certified in trailing. Handler Jason is SAR Tech II
Stormi - a Belgian malinois who is still in certification training. Handler Megan is SAR Tech II
Raven - a giant schnauzer who is still in certification training. Handler Aldie is SAR Tech II
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