Golden girls: Thai sniffer dogs Sierra and Sahara quickly became social media stars after starting their mission in Hatay, a southern Turkyish province. — The Nation/ANN
Two Golden Retrievers from Thailand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team are playing a starring role in the international mission following the earthquake disaster in Turkiye and Syria.
The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude quake and aftershocks that hit southern Turkiye and northern Syria on Feb 6 rose to more than 41,000 yesterday, with millions more affected in both countries.
Thai female sniffer dogs Sierra and Sahara quickly became social media stars after starting their mission on Saturday in Hatay, a southern Turkyish province on the coast that borders Syria.
Both come from the Environmental and Social Foundation. Its director, Alongkot Choukaew, said seven-year-old Sierra and six-year-old Sahara had passed training certified by the International Rescue Dog Organisation (IRO).
Alongkot said the National Rescue Dog Organisation (NRDO) was established a year after the tsunami hit Phuket on Dec 26, 2004.
NRDO went international when it began working with the United Nations’ USAR project three years ago.
For their latest mission, Sierra and Sahara have joined 40 of Thailand’s USAR team members in Turkiye and Syria.
Sierra and Sahara arrived from Sweden six years ago as Thailand’s second generation of sniffer dogs.
“We have trained these dogs since they were puppies in line with IRO standards,” he said.
“They have worked as sniffer dogs for three years now.”
Temperatures have dropped below freezing in parts of the disaster zone, but Alongkot said people should not worry as Sierra and Sahara can adapt to the cold.
Golden Retrievers were originally bred in Scotland, where winter temperatures often drop well below zero.
“We are confident that these dogs are ready for this mission,” he added.
Alongkot said Thailand’s USAR team currently has six sniffer dogs in total. Four are currently on standby back home. — The Nation/ANN
