PhK9SAR

A dog's sniff saves lives

Renee Speltz' passion to save lives is admirable. The
wife of Paul W. Speltz, a former ambassador and
current executive director of Asian Development Bank,
she specialized in Employee Assistance Programs
(EAP's) for expatriates in the contest of patriation
and repatriation services before coming to Manila in
October 2002. Her love for dogs and having personally
witnessed 9/11 inspired her in founding K9 SAR
Association Inc. in February 2003.

The Philippine Canine Search and Rescue Association
(PhK9SAR) is a non-profit organization and the only
one in Southeast Asia to be recognized by US NASAR
(National Association of Search and Rescue). Renee
believes that PhK9SAR is of more value nowadays after
the country recently suffered from a series of
typhoons and while South Asia is reeling from the
tsunami disaster.

"Our mission is to educate people, to train them and
be of service to them. Our vision is to make the
Philippines the place from which to deploy rescue
teams and to invite neighboring countries to train
here," she told a group of writers at the residence of
Simon Morris, chief executive officer of Standard
Chartered Bank.

She added, "Our cause won't be carried out without the
partnership of private sectors. I'm deeply grateful
that Standard Chartered Bank shares our passion and
commitment to save human lives. We cannot ask for a
better partner than this courageous multinational
giant. I believe this partnership will be for the long
run."

On the same occasion, Morris handed Speltz a check for
P1.1 million, which the latter said will be used for
purchasing equipment such as repelling gears, vests,
tents, ropes, shoes, flashlights and helmets.

Man's Best Friend

Why dogs? "In the past, when catastrophes strike,
people just dug and dug under the rubble. They may or
may not find something, they really didn't know.
That's not the case with dogs, as they can smell and
know," Renee reasoned out. However, there is a lack of
information about canine rescue teams in the
Philippines and Mrs. Speltz wants the public,
especially those living in the provinces, to
understand what canine rescue is all about.

Ten dogs were presented to the media people, most of
them labrador retrievers. The best canine, though, was
a Belgian mellanois named Chairman. Renee pointed out,
"Labradors are genetically predisposed. They also have
a keen sense of smell and they like attention." In
order for the dogs to make the team, they must be
energetic, playful and docile. It must be easy for
anyone to pet them and they shouldn't be quarrelsome
when with other dogs.

Team Building

The handler is the person who reads the signals the
dog sends. He then relays it to the flanker, who gives
instructions to the Metro Manila Development Authority
(MMDA) representative or any rescue person as to where
the body is located. Renee stressed that a victim who
is not fatally injured can make it if rescue is within
the "golden hours" or before 100 hours.

Handler Joseph Salva, 38, told writers that he has
been part of the PhK9SAR team for a year. Those who
want to volunteer must be patient enough to train for
an hour twice a week for a period of one year. We
asked him which dog was the most experienced of the
lot and he pointed to a cute cream-colored labrador
called Einstein.

Miss Speltz said that the PhK9SAR team will be
internationally certified by NASAR in about a month.
They have been involved in rescue operations such as
Operation Prana (the search for the missing
mountaineer in Mount Halcon in Mindoro) and the
typhoon victims in Real, Quezon, as well as
participated in the Boy Scouts of the Philippines
Jamboree. Renee related that they were ready to assist
in tsunami operations in Phuket, Thailand but they
were unable to do so because there was no public
sector transportation. But with Philippine Airlines
joining their team, traveling to other islands and
within Asia should not be a problem anymore.

Councilor Jejomar Binay, Jr. is also behind the cause.
He prides Makati in being the best in rescue
operations, citing the city's assistance to other
cities and municipalities within Metro Manila. They
are targeting areas in the Visayas and Mindanao for
future rescue operations.

(First published in What's On & Expat on February 13-19, 2005)