Scott County search unit training new dogs

BENTON, Mo. -- When German shepherd puppies Kitt and Kaden sniffed their way around Marshia Morton's farm in Benton on Sunday afternoon, they did more than explore the property and spar with barn cats.

Both 12 weeks old, Kitt and Kaden are two of seven puppies being trained by the Scott County Search and Rescue K9 Unit to find cadavers and live people during missing persons searches. Volunteers run the unit, which has assisted in searches in Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Florida.

"When a family needs them to look for a loved one, they're there," said Bobby Sherrill, one of Jacque Waller's childhood friends who became involved with the unit when she went missing June 1.

The unit has helped with several Waller searches, Sherrill said.

The puppies training Sunday are being groomed to take over Maggie's duties. Maggie is a 9-year-old German shepherd that has participated in almost a dozen recoveries, including four water recoveries. She is retiring because she is no longer physically able to perform searches, but she will work on the occasional water recovery, Sherrill said.

"She's helped bring closure to families as recent as two weeks ago," unit organizer Christa Tucker said. "She'll just be a dog now."

To prepare the puppies to fill Maggie's void, trainers fixate them on cadaver scents and hide items with the scent in concrete blocks placed a few feet apart. When a dog chooses the correct block, it is rewarded with a treat.

Once it becomes proficient with the blocks, the dog moves on to upright plastic pipes about a foot in length. The pipes make sensing the cadaver scent more difficult, Sherrill said.

Eventually the puppies will be tasked with finding a bone in a wooded area and other difficult tests, Sherrill said. The dogs normally complete their training in 12 to 16 months.

"You have to be committed," Tucker said. "Training these guys takes a lot of time."

Founded in November 2003, the unit is a not-for-profit organization that employs five trained dogs and seven puppies. The organization helped search communities for cadavers and missing persons in Joplin, Mo., after a May tornado ravaged the city.

The volunteers use their own funds to go to areas where they're needed, Sherrill said, noting that meals are normally supplied for them.

"It's a very noble organization," he said. "It's a way human nature fights inhumane nature."

To donate to the Scott County Search and Rescue K9 Unit, send money to SEMO Search Dog Association, Care of Mary Ann Strickler, 315 County Road 351, Charleston, MO 63834.

psullivan@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

698 County Highway 346, Benton, MO