Two rescue workers stand ready to render assistance VIDEO CNN's Don Knapp looks at how search and rescue dogs are trained Windows Media 28K 80K

August 17, 1999
Web posted at: 10:59 p.m. EDT (0259 GMT)

From Correspondent Don Knapp

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (CNN) -- The NASA Ames disaster assistance and rescue team has not gotten the call to help with recovery efforts in quake damaged Turkey, but it's ready if needed.

The team includes engineers, heavy equipment operators, hazardous materials specialists, medics and search dogs -- all prepared to go anywhere in the world within a few hours notice.

Canine members of the team prepare for future disasters by playing games such as searching for toys in a junk pile. That "game" gets the dog in shape for lifesaving missions.

Lucy is at the top of her game, certified as a "type one" disaster search dog by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She's one of only about 50 dogs in the country with that rating.

Lucy's handler, Lynne Engelbert, summed up the dog and her talents: "This is Lucy, and the thing on the end of her face there is her nose and she can take that and she can go into a pile of rubble and she can tell me very quickly whether there is a live human being in there or not."

Rescuers must be able to make tough decisions quickly.

"Once someone is found, then the whole plan begins: How do you get them out? Do you minimize exposure? Do you need shoring? What can you remove? If you remove this, does it cause something else to collapse? All those things come into play," said David Hammond of the NASA Ames Emergency Services.

After the Loma Prieta earthquake near San Francisco 10 years ago, dogs led rescuers to living victims beneath the rubble of the Cypress freeway in Oakland, California.

But the canines aren't always that successful.

Five years ago, rescue dogs from all over the United States rushed to Oklahoma City to help find victims beneath the bombed-out federal building.

"Unfortunately, by the time our team got there, there were no live finds but we did use the dogs to help locate bodies and were able to recover them," said Engelbert.