Search and Rescue: Augmenting My Passion and My Profession

By Jennifer Lettich-Synder, CVT, co-authored by Tracy Siek

It’s a cold dark December night, and you are all snug and warm in your bed about to doze off into a deep restful sleep.

“Whaaaa Whaaaa.” Your Active 911 alert jostles you out of your peaceful slumber. Knowing you must be at work in the morning you get up, get dressed and pull on your boots. Your dog’s tail wags and wags as you grab your Search and Rescue (SAR) pack and head out the door. You drive into the night and finally arrive on scene. You sign in, your task area is assigned and out you go into the wilderness. It’s dark, cold, and wet as you trudge through the briars, traversing over logs and through the swamp. Your K-9 partner zigs and zags as he covers the assigned search area, bounding over falling trees and splashing through creeks.

You see your dog’s head whip to the right as he takes off sprinting through the woods. He comes bounding back and jumps on you, his way of telling you he found someone.

All the years of blood, sweat, and tears come down to this moment. The lost time with family, the missed engagements, the holidays that are cut short; all the sacrifices that come with being a First Responder. THIS is where your training pays off.

You take off running through the woods hoping for the best but being prepared for the worst. You hear the lost subject’s muffled, hallowed cry for help. The missing individual is half undressed, suffering from hypothermia, barley coherent. As you quickly call in your location to Incident Command, your flankers start administering first aid. The rest of the recovery team arrives, you pack the subject into a Stoke’s Basket and start the trek out of the woods. The ambulance arrives and your missing subject is whisked away to the hospital.

You head back to incident command, sign out and head home, tired but with a full heart knowing that someone’s brother, son, or father will live to see another day.

Each call-out has a different scenario, the missing person varies, and the way the dogs work and react can change, but in the end we all wish for the same outcome, bringing home the missing.

As a veterinary technician we take an oath: “I solemnly dedicate myself to aiding animals and society by providing excellent care and services for animals, by alleviating animal suffering, and by promoting public health. I accept my obligations to practice my profession conscientiously and with sensitivity, adhering to the profession’s Code of Ethics, and furthering my knowledge and competence through a commitment to lifelong learning.”

I take my role as a veterinary professional in the field of SAR very seriously. As a veterinary professional, my role in SAR is twofold: not only do I give back to my community by participating in the search and rescue aspect to bring loved ones home, but I use my skills to build up my team by teaching them the value of being prepared and having the knowledge to act accordingly in emergency situations. It’s not just jumping to help with a broken nail at training or bandaging up a torn paw. It’s giving members of the SAR community the knowledge and confidence to come to the aid of their K-9 friend and partner through teaching and education.

As a veterinary technician, I make it my solemn duty to educate my teammates and the SAR community so they are better prepared for any emergency that may arise where veterinary care is not readily available. I coordinate and teach canine CPR and first aid classes. I cover such topics as bloat, canine nutrition, emergency wound treatment, and dehydration. I also possess the skills necessary to read a dog’s behavior and body language in order to pick up on medical issues, which can cause career-ending injuries if undiagnosed.

Understanding canine behavior is very important when observing the dog work. A head turn, a change in direction or something more subtle such as the flick of an ear or a lip lick can tell a story as to where scent has travelled, giving us a depiction of where the missing has gone.

Veterinary medicine has constant change and interaction, therefore, continuing education and helping others in the field become successful is a common goal of many. This same idea is shared in search and rescue. The more successful, well-trained veterinary team members that are out there, the better the profession. The more well-trained SAR personnel there are, the better response time and success of bringing the missing person home.

Both roles involve integrity, selflessness, motivation, and dedication.

I find a huge fulfillment when helping others. Being a veterinary technician as well as being an active member in my community with Search and Rescue, specifically working with canines, is a perfect place for me.

About the Author: Jennifer Lettich-Snyder, CVT, CCRP, K-9 Captain of Pennsylvania Canine Search and Rescue, and K-9 Handler for other SAR organizations, has been involved in veterinary medicine for 20 years and has been a First Responder for 25 years, SAR for 7 years. K-9 Charlotte is a Redbone Mix and is Certified in Trailing and Land Human Remains Detection, working towards Water Certification. K-9 Penelope is a Bloodhound in Certified Trailing. K-9 Dingo is a Pug Mix working on Land and Water Human Remains Detection. Professionally, Lettich-Snyder is a CVT at Anthracite Animal Clinic and Sunbury Animal Hospital.

Co-Author: Tracy Siek has been involved in SAR as a K-9 Handler for 7 years. K-9 Bentley is a 10-year-young rescue who is certified for Live Find through NASAR (National Association for Search and Rescue) as well as Human Remain Detection through AWDA (American Working Dog Association), NASAR and PSARC (Pennsylvania Search and Rescue Council). K-9 Zophie is a two-year-old Border Collie mix who is certified for Live Find through NASAR. Zophie is currently working towards her Human Remain Detection certification.