Here's another Search Dog story from NYC:

QUOTED from http://www.Firehouse.com

"Search Dogs Pour Into New York City
MICHAEL LUO
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Search dogs and their handlers have poured into New York City to help recover the living and the dead from the terrorist-ravaged World Trade Center.

Pamela Moks, a veterinarian at a mobile animal emergency hospital parked near the disaster site, said Wednesday some 300 dogs were part of the rescue effort.

Like many search and rescue dog handlers, Sheriff's Sgt. Mike Goldberg, of Hampden
County, Mass., is skeptical of using more sophisticated technology.

"The equipment, the heat-seeking and infrared stuff, doesn't work," he said. "What works is a nose."

Goldberg arrived hours after the collapse and put his rescue dog, a 4-year-old Belgian
Malonois named Jacative, to work.

In the first 24-hour period, rescuers and their animals brought out about half a dozen
survivors and numerous body parts. Also on the scene were "cadaver dogs", trained to track the scent of death.

The normal method is for heavy equipment to move aside beams and large pieces of concrete in an area, after which dogs and handlers begin searching in teams of four.

Every time a dog comes off the job it undergoes a health check at the mobile clinic, which is housed in an air-conditioned bus. It has 20 cages, four operating stations and x-ray facilities.

Moks said, "the things we are most concerned about are smoke inhalation and dust in their eyes". Vets also fear the long-term effects of exposure to asbestos.

"Think about how important this is", said Mike Shorter, a veterinarian from Manhattan. "The dogs are the front line."" end Firehouse.com quote

GO, Dawgs!