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Canines play an important role in emergency response by assisting with search-and-rescue operations. Dogs employ superior senses to track down victims and reach locations that may be inaccessible for humans. Veterinary Partner noted that rescue teams need more trained dogs-and-handler pairs to share duties during emergencies and improve victims' chances for survival. Before they can be sent into the field, dogs must undergo standard search-and-rescue training. According to the National Association for Search & Rescue, it typically takes about one year of training for dogs to be ready to complete missions with their handlers. That shared experience can pave the way for both parties to quickly adopt new methods and equipment.

According to a Police Magazine survey, nearly 50 percent of police departments use K-9 teams. Due to the nature of their assignments-which can include tracking suspects, detecting narcotics, investigating suspected arson, and assisting in search-and-rescue efforts-these dogs and their handlers go through some of the most rigorous training of any first responders. When one of these specially-trained dogs alerts officers to the presence of contraband or tracks the scent of a suspect, police may be given probable cause to conduct a full search. If that search reveals something incriminating, a defendant may try to suppress the evidence by attacking the grounds for conducting the search. Since the reliability of a K-9 alert contributes directly to whether probable cause exists, these cases often explore the quality of training and training records to depths seldom reached in human-only cases. This body of law provides public safety professionals uniquely clear guidance on what constitutes best training practices for K-9 teams.