As of: March 24, 2024, 5:55 p.m
By: Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
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And here we go: Vanessa Schallmoser shows the dog Ida the direction of search.
And off we go: Vanessa Schallmoser shows Ida the search direction.
© Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
We visited the BRK rescue dog team and accompanied Labrador dog Ida in her training for an emergency: searching for missing people.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen – Ida can see the tension.
The golden Labrador dances on the spot, her eyes keep wandering to her owner, Vanessa Schallmoser.
She waits for the signal to finally start running.
It's a big game for the four-legged friend - for Schallmoser training and training for emergencies.
Ida is a certified rescue dog, Schallmoser manager and trainer of the rescue dog specialist service in the BRK district association Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.
This is how the four-legged friends train in an emergency - BRK rescue dog handler: “They are a unit”
She is currently practicing with four other members of the squadron and their animals in a forest near Reichersbeuern.
Before the actual work begins, the area is walked.
“So everything that lives here has time to retreat,” says Schallmoser.
Each dog is then assigned a task depending on their level of training.
Ida is supposed to search an area for a missing person.
Schallmoser puts the identification blanket with the inscription “German Red Cross” and a so-called “bear bell” around her.
The sound of the bell is used both for location and to alert hikers and wild animals at an early stage.
“The marking also signals to a hunter that this is not a free-roaming or even poaching dog, but a dog with an important mission,” explains the 39-year-old from the Schliersee market.
You can read the latest news from the Wolfratshausen/Geretsried region here
The “victim” radios that he has reached his hiding place.
Schallmoser kneels down and points with an outstretched arm in the direction where Ida should start searching.
“And let’s go!” The Labrador doesn’t need to be told twice.
He runs off enthusiastically, pointing his nose in all directions.
And here we go: Vanessa Schallmoser shows the dog Ida the direction of search.
© Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
High demands on rescue dogs – absolute physical fitness and a lot of motivation
Schallmoser accompanies Ida on the way, stopping again and again to determine the dog's position by listening to the sound of the bell.
It is easy to prove how much a rescue dog achieves in a short period of time.
“It can search an area of 45,000 square meters within 30 minutes,” explains the trainer.
With this performance, a dog is literally ahead.
“An alternative would be a search chain – but that is incredibly time- and personnel-intensive.”
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The prerequisites for the dog are that, in addition to absolute physical fitness, it is mentally and physically resilient and can be easily motivated.
“He has to have fun running and working.” And: people and animals should form a team.
Schallmoser: “We are a unit.
I have to recognize his needs.
After all, he is not a machine, but a living being.” This means: No matter whether in an exercise or in an emergency – there is always a risk of injury for the rescue dog.
The training lasts about three years.
But the dog handler also has to go to school, so to speak.
“Medical training as a paramedic, specialist knowledge of radio communication, orientation and tactics,” says Schallmoser, giving a few examples.
Both humans and animals also have to pass tests again and again.
“And you have to have enthusiasm and empathy,” says Schallmoser, – as well as “a family that stands behind it.”
The members travel around 5,000 kilometers a year to training locations or missions.
And here we go: Vanessa Schallmoser shows the dog Ida the direction of search.
© Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
“It can happen that we are requested from far away.” The trainer recalls a case two years ago near the Czech border.
An eight-year-old was missing.
Around 1,400 emergency services, including 115 search dog teams, searched the forest area.
“The child was found – a few tears of relief have already flowed from one or the other.” The collaboration with the other squadrons is working smoothly.
“We don’t see ourselves as competitors; after all, we all have the same goal.
And that’s all that matters.”
Suddenly a loud bark is heard.
For Vanessa Schallmoser, this is a sign that Ida has found the missing person.
The dog handler makes her way through the bushes.
In an emergency, she would now check the person's vital functions and, if necessary, provide medical assistance.
“Fortunately, we can skip that today.”
By the way: Everything from the region is also available in our regular Wolfratshausen-Geretsried newsletter.
She calls Ida over and pulls a reward out of her pocket.
“Now it’s time for the dog to party – after all, Ida should know that she’s done a really great job here.”
Cooperation with the police: 17 rescue dog squadrons covering over 9,000 square kilometers
Time is running out.
A child has disappeared.
The girl left her parents' house in the morning to go to school.
She never reaches her goal.
Another case: An old person who, due to his dementia, can no longer find his way back to his home and may wander around helplessly.
“In 2023, over 2,500 missing person operations were carried out in the entire area of the Upper Bavaria South Police Headquarters,” says First Police Chief Inspector Christian Redl.
The Presidium's area of responsibility covers an area of over 9,000 square kilometers, nine districts and the independent city of Rosenheim.
The so-called “short-term missing persons”, i.e. people whose whereabouts can be traced relatively quickly, are also included.
Around 400 searches alone concern people from old people's homes, nursing homes or similar facilities.
The search for a missing person requires a lot of time and energy.
Various special forces are called in.
These include “the helicopter squadron, fire brigade, mountain rescue service, the technical relief agency and, last but not least, the rescue dog squadrons,” says Redl.
These can not only be members of authorities and organizations with security tasks - BOS for short - but also voluntary aid organizations or private dog teams.
17 rescue dog teams with around 150 trained rescue dogs in Upper Bavaria South
In order to regulate cooperation between the various rescue dog squads with a common operational concept, so-called working groups were installed in all police associations in Bavaria.
The concept guides both the alerts and the operational management and the cooperation between each other.
“The rescue dog squadron working group in the area of the Upper Bavaria South police headquarters was set up in May 2023 and currently brings together 17 rescue dog squadrons with around 150 trained rescue dogs in the area of area and rubble searches, water detection and man-trailing,” explains Redl.
Around 200 dogs are currently still being trained for the various areas of application.
In an emergency, the police dog handler on duty takes over the coordination as the so-called “rescue dog operations section manager”.
“The operational concept that has been put in place, which has proven itself very well so far, has improved the cooperation between the rescue dog teams and thus achieved the greatest possible success in the search for missing people,” says Redl.
“After all, it’s about nothing less than saving lives.”