Cape Town Dogs to the Rescue

Katja Hamilton

K9 Search and Rescue Association of South Africa, which has been going for 14 years, now has a branch in Cape Town which is working toward qualifying their dogs in March this year – the first initiative of its kind in the Western Province.

Currently no qualified K9 air-scented unit exists in Cape Town thus foot patrols are used first to scope and scan an area when someone is reported missing.  “The purpose of training our dogs is so that we can assist in searches where large areas need to be covered, reducing the need for on-foot resources that could be deployed more effectively,” said Lita Potgieter, team leader.

K9 Search and Rescue Association of South Africa is a unit of civilian volunteers who train dogs by means of air scenting to seek out a living human scent. This training is used to find people who find themselves lost or injured in the wilderness or who are suspected missing. Cases have included hikers, people with Alzheimers lost on estates and runaways.

The team will respond to calls by Emergency Services and will be managed by the Metro Control Centre. Their services will be available to whoever may require their services at no charge.

The Gauteng-based unit works locally in and around South Africa, as well as internationally when called upon. The K9 Unit comprise members of Delta Search and Rescue which is on standby 24 hours and primarily offers logistical support for search and rescue operations in the form of off-road transport, communications and field-operative skills for any emergency or disaster situation.

The new partnership has seen four members and their dogs in training for a year and a half. In March this year, they’ll undergo an independent examination by the Johannesburg Search and Rescue Association of South Africa. If they make the grade, the group stands to qualify to operate as Cape Town’s very first K9 Search and Rescue unit which will be on call 24 hours a day to assist law-enforcement agencies, emergency response and other official and voluntary agencies during any emergency or disaster situation.

The dogs in the pilot project are Brooke, a three-year-old German Pointer and her handler, Mariann; Addi a seven-month old Malinois puppy and his handler, Jeanne; Shiloh an 18-month-old Border Collie and her handler, Maryke; Shonna, a three-year-old German Shepherd and her handler, Lita; and flanker, Dale.

“We are committed to qualifying our dogs and want to continue to be volunteers,” said Lita.  

The initiation of the Western Cape branch of the K9 Search and Rescue group was motivated by Maryke and Lita who approached K9 Search and Rescue Association of South Africa.  One of the members, Muriel Dekker was assigned to assist. At the time Muriel purchased a property in Gordons Bay and ever since has overseen training. Muriel’s dog is one of the highest qualified search and rescue dogs in the country. She assessed the unit’s dogs and authorized their training. Different trainers from the Gauteng unit have been deployed to Cape Town in order to assist with the Cape Town team’s progress in the last 18 months.

“It’s been a really exciting experience for us, and we’re hugely happy to be a part of the official K9 SAR Organisation,” said Lita.

For further information contact Lita at help@dsar.org.za

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