SIUC professor trains search-and-rescue dogs

As soon as SIUC Spanish Professor Kathy Chonez gave the command Search to her dog König, his nose went to the ground and he didn't stop sniffing until he found what he was looking for. On this occasion, König, a longhaired German shepherd, was merely searching for a fork that Chonez had hidden from him. But next time, König might be searching for a lost child in the woods.

Chonez is a member of Southern Illinois Canine Search and Rescue, a non-profit organization that volunteers to help any local people or police departments if they need assistance in locating someone or something. The group is currently made up of seven individuals from across southern Illinois. Chonez decided to start the organization when she moved to Southern Illinois from New York and learned that there was no such organization to keep her dogs in practice. König is one of Chonez's three certified search-and-rescue dogs. Having König or any of her dogs find objects she has hidden is a routine training procedure for Chonez. She does practice searches with her dogs twice a week to prepare them in the event of an emergency.

Chonez and König, her oldest dog, became a certified search-and-rescue team seven years ago; a decision Chonez said the dog made. "The only reason I decided to do this is because I got König, who is a tremendous dog," Chonez said. "He absolutely loved it. I personally wasn't that thrilled to be out at 2:00 in the morning."

Kaye Carr, an SIUC history professor and member of the group, said she and her dog Remi, a Border collie, both enjoy the search-and-rescue training. She said she likes the fact that she can use her dog not only for her own companionship, but also to help others. "I like to work with dogs and I also like to give back to the community in some way," Carr said. "They work well together."

The group self certifies its members. Chonez said in order to become certified the dog and the trainer have do the training together. Some members of the group have already been certified with their dogs and some are in the process. "Dog and handler both have to get certified," Chonez said. "They both have to know what they are doing." For final certification, the team has to be able to do a variety of searches over several different terrains. They must learn to find living people, cadavers, weapons and any other important article that might be lost.

Both Chonez and Carr said that it isn't very often they are called upon. Through seven years and more than 2,000 practice searches, Chonez said König has only been called out six times. Carr and her dog have only been called upon one time to go in search of a person. In that case, the SIU Police Department called them to find a missing person. They were not able to locate the person, but the person was later found in a different area. "It ended up the person wasn't there, but that's okay, we're still there in case somebody does need us," Carr said. "But that usually doesn't happen."

One of the reasons the group doesn't have many calls is because the Carbondale Police Department and the Illinois State Police Department in DuQuoin both have their own dogs for searches. Carbondale Police Chief Steve Odum said they have a Belgian Malinois named Tommy that handles all of their searching duties. He said it would be a rare case in which they would require help from another source. "Our dog could do searches in a relatively limited area," Odum said. "We have been successful at it a few times." Master Sgt. Mike Hooks from the Illinois State Police Department said they don't rely on dogs from outside sources because the dogs they have are versatile enough to handle any situation they face.

"Our dogs are full service," said Hooks, who used to work with a German shepherd named Plato. The police dogs, along with their trainers, have to go through 12 weeks of training to be certified. Hooks said after the training they constantly keep their dogs in practice to keep them sharp. He said it may seem like a lot of work, but in the end it is worth it. Plato originally cost $3,600 but has since aided in the seizure of about $2.5 million in cash and drugs and located 14 lost individuals.

"You can't put a dollar amount on the people he has found," Hooks said. Even though her dogs don't get to go out on very many missions, Chonez said she still thinks it is important to keep them in practice. She said it is a great way to spend time with her dogs and do something practical at the same time. "It's a really worthwhile thing to do with a dog," Chonez said. "Plus the dogs love it."