Video of rubble-site training shows
how we commence training with pups at three months old on a site specially
designed by the IDF to simulate fallout of earthquakes, or collapsed buildings due
to rocket attacks, G-d forbid:
The pups are exposed to the site
and learn to indicate where there are people trapped under the rubble who await
rescue.
Earthquake Predicted
Scientists predict that Israel is
due for a major earthquake in the near future (Israel experiences a major quake
approximately every 95 years). If such a quake would hit Israel, along the Syrian-African
fault line, with the intensity of the last major quake, 400,000 buildings could
collapse leaving an estimated 15,000 people dead or trapped alive under the
rubble.
We must prepare for such a possibility
and train many more SAR dogs and handlers. One need not wait to catch a pneumonia
to buy an umbrella (reference to a Max Nordau quote brought down by Zev
Jabotinsky in his speeches and in his book – Story of The Jewish Legion, who
asked why Jews were not more pro-active to save themselves from obvious future threats
and calamities, and why do they always seem to wait until disaster arrives to
begin to deal with problems that should have been foreseen long ago?)
Indeed one need
not wait until an earthquake hits Israel or until hundreds if not thousands of
buildings collapse due to Hizbullah rocket attacks in the next war. He who is
smart sees the future. Especially when the obvious fallout so prominently steers
us right in the face. He who cooks for Shabbat, eats on Shabbat. He who
supports the Israel Dog Unit today, saves many lives today and in the future.
The Jewish People don’t only have
to be the best at responding. In fact, I’m sick and tired of unnecessary death
caused by the mindset of ignoring prevention and sufficing for cleaning up a
mess that should never have occurred. This is equally true when it comes to
training and readying ourselves with SAR dogs as well as security dogs to patrol
Jewish towns and to keep the terrorists out of the “settlements”. I don’t want
to downplay the importance of those who engage in this holy work, after the the
tragedy hits so as to minimize the negative effects of the damage after the
fact, but let us be smart and to prevent the damage in advance, to the best of our
ability.
To donate to the Israel Dog Unit:
