KETTERING, Ohio - An elite squad from Ohio is headed to Florida to help with disaster relief, and half of the team is doing the work on four legs.
Ohio Task Force One deployed its K-9 unit Sunday on a daunting mission: recovering victims.
Sunny, Hunter and Murphy are highly-trained human remains detection dogs. They work with their handlers for more than a year before going into the field. And when they get to disaster zones, no matter the type, they’re efficient.
“All three of these dogs are very high-drive dogs, so pretty much anytime we’re in uniform or any training scenario like that they’re always ready to work,” said Nick Fathergill of Centerville, Ohio. “We train constantly. It’s not just a weekend thing. It’s an everyday thing for all of us.”
“They amaze us,” said Melissa Morgan of Corinth, Kentucky. “We train them for what we think could happen, but often Mother Nature does so much more that we really can’t prepare them for what they do. They adapt and overcome.”
The team was originally scheduled to leave Monday morning but left early in order to begin work as soon as possible.
