A K-9 German Shephard is getting much-deserved praise for his amazing work with the State Troopers after finding a hiker who had been lost for ten days.
On June 27, 2024, ABC 7 News shared an incredible story of a German Shephard K-9 named Rino, who has been credited with being a key member of the search and rescue team that found a missing hiker. Here's what happened.
Rino is a 5-year-old German Shephard who works in the K-9 unit with California State Parks.
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Rino and his handler, State Park ranger Brett Weber, were the first team to locate and reach a hiker who had been missing for ten days in the Santa Cruz mountains.
Rino, who is law enforcement and tracking K-9, used his senses to lead the full search and rescue team to where Lukas McClish was after he had been lost for ten days in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The area where the hiker had gone missing was not easy to navigate. "There are no trails, no roads, several miles from the closest place to a road, which the closest road that we got into, we had to four-wheel drive probably a quarter of a mile in and then we couldn't go further," Boulder Creek Fire Protection District Chief Mark Bingham said to the local news outlet The Santa Cruz Sentinel .
Given the difficult terrain, having Rino available to narrow down the hiker’s exact location using his incredible sense of smell was pivotal in the search and rescue efforts.
According to the news station, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office launched drones to help find the missing 34-year-old hiker. Once the general location of his body had been determined, the search and rescue team let Rino take the lead.
"We had a really steep hillside to the right side of us that Rino wanted to pull to a few times, and in training, we always say trust your dog,” Weber told the news station. “And so I said if he wants to pull up, that there's probably a reason. I'm gonna trust him on this one.”
Rino was able to track the hiker’s location based on his scent in the creek bed where the hiker had been earlier to get water. And then, Rino was able to direct Weber right to the exact location of the missing hiker.
Why German Shepherds Make Great K9 Officers
Rino is a German Shepherd, and this dog breed is often a top choice for breeds joining the police force, and that’s not just a coincidence.
According to Dog Trainer College , German Shepherds "are renowned for their intelligence and eagerness to learn. This makes them incredibly trainable, a crucial aspect for police work."
Given the importance of learning and executing specific skills in police work, including following commands, tracking, and detecting, it is very important to have a dog who can easily pick up on these tasks and execute them.
"One of the most remarkable aspects of German Shepherds is their versatility. They’re not just good at one thing; they excel in a variety of roles within police work," the site explains.
Adding, "From tracking missing persons to sniffing out narcotics or explosives, their ability to adapt to different tasks makes them incredibly valuable to law enforcement agencies."
Thankfully, the hiker who was missing for 10 days had no major injuries and is now back with his family.
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