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Dune Doggin’
By Lou Sennick, Senior Photographer
Friday, August 01, 2008 | 1 comment(s)
NORTH SPIT — A man is lost in the dunes.
The Coos County Search and Rescue canine unit is on the scent. Sure, it was only a drill, but without training it’d be tough for the dogs to leap in and succeed in a real emergency.
Joe Doman was at base camp. He talked on the radio with a member of the canine unit doing a search on Coos Bay’s North Spit on Thursday afternoon. The “ground-pounders,” as he calls them, were not looking for a truly lost person.
They were looking for another member of the team, hiding as a dog searched for him. Doman said the unit trains every Thursday at a different location around the county.
This week, they were based in the parking lot of the Weyerhaeuser Company’s North Spit Overlook. The dog search teams work to keep the dogs’ skills up.
“The dogs need a lot more training than people,” Doman said. “You don’t want anybody lost, but you want to see these dogs work.”
Nikko, a yellow Labrador, has “adopted” Doman’s company, since Doman can no longer be a ground-pounder. Doman operates the communications and base station for the dogs and handlers. He keeps radios and equipment in his van and is ready to work when needed.
All of the teams are volunteers who work through the Coos County Sheriff’s Department. They also help out at other events, such as the upcoming Circle the Bay Relay and the annual Relay for Life.
The Coos County Search and Rescue canine unit is on the scent. Sure, it was only a drill, but without training it’d be tough for the dogs to leap in and succeed in a real emergency.
Joe Doman was at base camp. He talked on the radio with a member of the canine unit doing a search on Coos Bay’s North Spit on Thursday afternoon. The “ground-pounders,” as he calls them, were not looking for a truly lost person.
They were looking for another member of the team, hiding as a dog searched for him. Doman said the unit trains every Thursday at a different location around the county.
This week, they were based in the parking lot of the Weyerhaeuser Company’s North Spit Overlook. The dog search teams work to keep the dogs’ skills up.
“The dogs need a lot more training than people,” Doman said. “You don’t want anybody lost, but you want to see these dogs work.”
Nikko, a yellow Labrador, has “adopted” Doman’s company, since Doman can no longer be a ground-pounder. Doman operates the communications and base station for the dogs and handlers. He keeps radios and equipment in his van and is ready to work when needed.
All of the teams are volunteers who work through the Coos County Sheriff’s Department. They also help out at other events, such as the upcoming Circle the Bay Relay and the annual Relay for Life.
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