May 21, 2012

SandBoxBlogs: Summit Daily News "Summit lends hand to building Mexico's K9 rescue"

Thank you so much to our Red White and Blue guys over in Summit County for participating in this terrific program.  You are awesome.

Janice Kurbjun:
"A storm ravaged part of Mexico nearly a decade ago, scattering forest timbers, smashing cars, leaving several dead.

One particular family lost its husband and father, and that family became the reason eight rescue dogs are now in place in the country. Rescue dogs could have made the difference of life and death for that man, and Jesse Rodriguez promised he'd put a program in place.

Though it's nearly a decade later, Rodriguez is starting from “below scratch,” he said, adding that about 31 dogs are being trained in all of Mexico to add to the contingent of eight currently in existence. Which is why he and eight team members drove up from Hermosillo to train with Colorado's Emergency Response K9 teams this weekend. They have been training their dogs for about three months, and they're considered a senior team. Rodriguez is also overseeing programs in Columbia and Peru.

By comparison, the United States has 231 Federal Emergency Management Agency-certified canine teams in place throughout the country and have been training for years.

The eight handlers and their pups passed through Utah for training before arriving at Frisco's High Country Training Center on Thursday, nearly 18 hours away from home — by a direct route.

“We don't have rubble piles in Mexico,” Rodriguez said. “We don't have a lot of things.”

What he's doing is largely coming out of his pocket, from a minimal International Emergency Response K9 fund and some recent help from various firefighting agencies — but he's getting a lot of outside support....."
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"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

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