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Search and rescue teams train K-9s for water scent detection

The K-9 units practiced Human Remains Detection along the Buffalo Outer Harbor.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Erie County Sheriff's Office and other search and rescue teams had K-9 water training along the Buffalo Outer Harbor on Sunday.

"Some of our boat operators have never worked with the dogs before so, and some of the dogs have never been on some of these bigger boats so it’s kind of a familiarization," Hamburg Water Rescue Unit Chief of Operations Ron Klimowicz said.   

The search and rescue teams gathered with their K-9s for water scent detection training, practicing Human Remains Detection in the local waterways.

This training was about getting the K-9 unit acclimated with different types of boats, and having them sniff the water from the vessels.

"The dog will sit on the edge of the boat, put her nose as close to the water as possible. As soon as she gets as close as she can to the source she will indicate and that will give people an idea of where the possible drowned victim may be," Erie County Deputy Sheriff Bradley Girdler said.   

Boats and crews from the Water Rescue Unit, Buffalo Police and Buffalo Fire, the U.S. Coast Guard, Niagara Frontier Search and Rescue, Hamburg Water Rescue Unit, and several other organizations participated in this exercise.

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