have no fear, superdog is here!
SKI PATROLLER IVAN MCGURK TRAINS SHAKA THE GOLDEN RETRIEVER TO FIND LOST SKIERS AFTER AVALANCHES.
D G ESCUE
SEARCH-AND-R
SA SHAKA TAKE BREAK FROM AS TRAINING S ON. MCGURK LOOK
North Lake Tahoe, California
Shaka the golden retriever digs in the snow. He’s not pawing through the snow for fun though—he’s practicing to save lives. That’s because Shaka is part of Squaw Dogs, a team of search-and-rescue dogs at the Squaw Valley ski resort. The animals assist their human handlers with finding lost skiers after avalanches. Shaka’s handler, ski patroller Ivan McGurk, says that though humans can use their eyes to look for injured skiers aboveground, they need help to find people under the snow. “Shaka’s trained to search for humans using his nose,” McGurk says. “I need his sense of smell to track down what I can’t see.” When Shaka’s not working, he’s with his best friend, Kaya the Belgian Malinois, another Squaw Dog. And when they play something called “flying squirrel,” look out! “Shaka runs at Kaya and leaps on her!” says Ben Stone, Kaya’s handler. He saves lives and he can fly? Someone get this dog a cape. —Sara Schwartz
10
NOVEMBER 2017