For every scent receptor in a human’s nose, a dog has fifty. A dog’s sense of smell is ten thousand to a hundred thousand times better than ours, making us comparatively “nose blind.” While so much of our world is processed through our vision, a dog’s world is a scent map. 

Dogs can even tell time through scent. As any dog owner can tell you, dogs know when it’s mealtime, walk time and bedtime. Scientists believe this is because different times of day smell differently to them. Dogs smell in stereo—the left side and the right side of the nose aren’t connected. 

The iconic rescue dog, the St. Bernard, isn’t as ideal a SAR dog as you might think. St. Bernards are slower to cover an area than other breeds of working dogs. Handlers need to be able to pick up their dogs to get them in and out of helicopters and vehicles, if they’re injured, or in other circumstances. St. Bernards weigh between up to 120 kilo- grams, so they are ruled out just by their sheer bulk. Most search dogs are a manageable 23 to 32 kilograms. 

Search dogs are valuable members of the SAR teams. Each of them can do as much searching as up to fifteen human searchers in the same amount of time. The canines are much beloved pets to their handlers, as well as working dogs. 

Myths About Search Dogs 

Myth 1: Dogs can’t smell in the rain or in water.

Truth: Search dogs can air scent in the rain and can smell underwater and even under mud.

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Myth 2: Dogs can’t pick up scent in cold or snow. 

Truth: It makes it more difficult, but they can, or we wouldn’t have avalanche dogs. 

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Myth 3: Dogs can’t search at night.

Truth: Dogs have good night vision, but they mostly rely on their superior sense of smell.

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Myth 4: When not on duty, SAR dogs are kept caged. 

Truth: SAR dogs are treated as pets and have the run of the house when they aren’t training or on call-outs. 

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Myth 5: Anyone can turn their dog into a SAR dog. 

Truth: To become a dog handler with your own dog on a SAR team is highly unlikely. For most SAR groups, you would have to be accepted into a SAR group, train and be in GSAR for at least two years. Your dog would have to meet all the obedience, temperament, physical and drive requirements. Then you would need to train for likely a year be- fore being validated by an RCMP dog validator. Your dog would need to be six months to two years old when they started training; other- wise they are too old. You would have already been in GSAR for two years by this time, so it would be too late. 

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Myth 6: SAR dogs are the same as police dogs. 

Truth: SAR dogs aren’t involved with searches for and apprehension of criminals or sniffing for illegal substances. However, SAR dogs may be tasked by police or RCMP to search for evidence related to a criminal investigation, such as clothing, bones or even a deceased per- son. SAR dogs are friendly, non-aggressive and good around children. However, police dogs are used on searches for lost subjects as well as for searches for criminals. 

Mike Ritcey—Kamloops, BC 

Mike Ritcey, call sign Kilo 99, has had working dogs his entire life. He describes his current and third SAR dog, Ranger, a three-year-old yellow Lab, as “a young, high drive, lovable male dog. He is very high energy and has an excellent work ethic. He wants to please.” Mike adds, “He brings hope to anyone that sees him get out of the truck. His energy and confidence are infectious.” 

Ranger came from Saskatchewan. “I asked for a high-drive dog and was not disappointed. You need a dog with a strong hunt or ball drive—one with a no-quit switch.” Ranger has a long career ahead of him. SAR dogs can work until they are eight years old and sometimes until they are ten, versus police dogs that retire after seven or eight years. 

Ranger and Mike showcase their partnership in a documentary called Sit. Stay. Search in which you can watch the pair and other teams go through training exercises. Mike says that Ranger works at “110 percent.” Every time Ranger is on the job, he makes Mike look good. 

Mike firmly believes that dogs are a person’s best hope for being found. Some of the reasons dogs are so efficient at searching are that they are willing to work in the rain, they can go anywhere and they are reliable. Dogs have such a keen sense of smell that they can find subjects inside of car trunks, which are supposed to be airtight, or even under water, he says. 

Drones, on the other hand, can’t fly in poor-visibility weather and are limited as to where they can fly. Mike says, “I’ve had subjects tell me they’ve seen drones right in front of them, waved at them and the drones didn’t see them. They’ve seen them pass over them several times, and the drones didn’t pick them up.”  

Mike joined Kamloops SAR (KSAR) in 1976, when there were no dog teams. He was a paramedic for thirty years, as well as a big-game hunting guide. As a guide he trained dogs to track cougar, bear and deer, so when it came time to train dogs to search for humans, it wasn’t a drastic switch for him. 

Mike explains that dogs track not only by scent, but also by ground disturbance, “bleeding” and what we leave behind. Bleeding is like when you cut the grass and can smell the bruising of the blades. When humans disturb the ground, it’s totally different than when a bear does. 

On the dog intelligence scale, German shepherds are third, golden retrievers are fourth, Labrador retrievers seventh and Austrian Malinois twenty-second. These are some of the most common SAR dog breeds used in BC. “Bloodhounds don’t have the obedience or recall required, but they are great for tracking animals.” 

KSAR has approximately fifty call-outs a year, giving Mike up to fifty potential opportunities to reunite a missing soul with their loved ones. “Bringing someone back to their parents or loved ones is indescribable—pretty emotional,” he says. 

He has an understanding family and no personal life because he puts in over six hundred hours a year into call-outs and training. He’s had to abandon family celebrations, even his wedding anniversary, to go on call-outs. 

Excerpt from Rescue Me: Memoirs of Search and Rescue, copyright © 2022 by Cathalynn Labonté-Smith. Reprinted with permission of Caitlin Press.

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Learn more about Rescue Me: Memoirs of Search and Rescue

Rescue Me takes you behind the scenes of some of North America’s riskiest search and rescue operations. Author Cathalynn Labonté-Smith shares real-life stories as told by volunteer members of Search and Rescue teams, who find the lost and rescue the injured in the most extreme conditions and situations the wilds of North America throw at them. From rescuing avalanche victims in blinding snowstorms, to climbing into vehicles teetering on cliff edges to free passengers from mangled metal or crossing wafer-thin ice to save an injured cross-country skier, these thrilling first-hand accounts will forever change how you prepare for your next outdoor adventure. Labonté-Smith uncovers everyday dangers, from the unexpected risks of familiar urban settings to the extreme conditions in North America’s wilderness. Deserving of a place both on your bookshelf and in your backpack, Rescue Me is a must-read book that could save your life.