Canine augmentation technology for urban search and rescue

This chapter describes the role dogs play in responses to urban disasters. Many people are aware of fire dogs and rescue dogs but few understand the profound difference that a disaster dog makes in the course of searching for people trapped in the rubble left in the wake of a building collapse. It is common practice for emergency first response organizations (EFROs) around the world to use dogs for search and rescue (SAR). Their keen senses of smell, focus, and tenacity allow dogs to detect and locate people who are lost or trapped. Working over vast distances and in large areas, these dogs can often find missing people or rule out an area from further search.