Buzzards and Butterflies: Human Remains Detection Dogs

Search and Rescue dogs continue to amaze us with their abilities and talents as they locate lost or missing persons. Buzzards and Butterflies is a primer for the canine handler working a Human Remains Detection dog on land or water. This is the text to learn training and search strategies that work for other HRD handlers. Included is information on ground penetrating radar, behavior of dogs, reading dog behaviors, burial and embalming customs, how soil affects decomposition, how to prepare training samples in concrete, crime preservation techniques, evaluating dog teams, industry standards for HRD dogs, and many search stories and tips from HRD handlers across the U. S.

J. Christy Judah is the Chief and a SAR dog handler with the Brunswick Search and Rescue Team in North Carolina. She is a SAR Tech I, and has certified several dogs Wilderness Air Scent, Human Remains Detection (land and water), and continues to volunteer to find lost or missing persons. She is a retired educator, mother and grandmother of two.