Santa Barbara Search Dog, Handler Headed To Nepal

Six teams from the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation are heading to Nepal to help in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake. The teams left from March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County on Sunday night, and are expected to arrive in Nepal on Tuesday U.S. time.

Eric Gray, a Santa Barbara County firefighter, and his canine Riley are among the team members headed to the Himalayan country.

The search teams are part of a 57-member FEMA task force waiting for their military transport in Southern California.

The teams will help with rescue and recovery efforts.

All six of the search and rescue canine teams were trained at the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. The dogs are trained to alert their handlers when they smell a human who may be trapped beneath the rubble.

“I like to think of it as just a highly trained nose being able to move over and under any situation that they come to, which is the reason for the national training center. Give them the opportunity to learn before they are sent on a deployment,” said National Disaster Search Dog Foundation Founder Wilma Melville.

Teams from all across the world come to the training center in Santa Paula to hone in their search and rescue skills.

For more information on The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation and the work they do click here.