Working Dogs

A mountain patrol officer and a German shepherd practice rescue techniques in the French Alps. Officers here often conduct search-and-rescue operations in avalanche situations. Search-and-rescue dogs are trained to search out the odor given off by humans trapped beneath collapsed structures or natural debris. They alert their handlers by barking at the site where a victim lies, and, depending on how the dogs react to what they've found, handlers know from a distance whether the victim is alive or dead, even whether he or she is uninjured or severely injured.