It can be difficult to watch shelter dogs get walked by and forgotten about in an age of dog breeders and pet stores. Sometimes it’s hard to convince people that shelter dogs are just as loving as a new puppy.
The Central Nebraska Humane Society wants to do more for their shelter dogs. They want to breathe new life into them and give them some sense of purpose. Therefore they are currently training their shelter dogs to become disaster search dogs.
Animal Control Officer Alyssa Nesiba says that it can be difficult to find the right dog to perform in disaster searching, “We find ones that we think could be eligible. Our people in South Dakota will work with them. If they think they’re eligible, they’ll get them sent to California”. In California they will then be trained by the Disaster Search Dog Foundation in Ojai.
After weeks of searching, the CNHS decided that Buddy is their current best candidate. Volunteer Tracie Pfeifle said, “”He deserves it. He’s been through a lot in his lifetime, and he’s a very intelligent, smart dog.”
Nesiba added, “It’s rare to find a dog that will do all that…and within a week, our staff had found Buddy. He was doing it like it was nothing, so it makes us really proud to know that our dogs are able to do things that, quite frankly, they said were one in a million.”
If things keeps going well for Buddy, he will be off to California so he can finish training for his new life. The Disaster Search Dog Foundation will gladly find him a home once he has finished his training.
References:
1. NBC Nebraska
