PETALING JAYA: When the Highland Towers tragedy struck more than 30 years ago, Wellington Ho felt a need to contribute towards the search operations.
Being the Malaysian Kennel Association president at the time, Ho called up a number that flashed across the television screen to offer his assistance.
He told a police inspector that search and rescue dogs were needed in the rescue efforts.
“Given my position, I was regularly connected with dog associations globally who have search and rescue dogs.
“I offered to be an intermediary, but things didn’t exactly take off as search and rescue dogs were somewhat new at the time,” he said.
Following the tragedy which claimed the lives of 48 individuals, Ho vowed to begin a search and rescue dog team.
This led to Search and Rescue (SAR) Dogs Malaysia being formed in 2016.
The team now has two International Rescue Organisation (IRO)-certified dogs and four younger dogs that are undergoing certification training.
The two IRO-certified dogs are Tar, a black Labrador, and Atom, a mixed breed.
“Training takes two and a half to three years. Once the dogs are ready, we will inform IRO and they will send their judges to certify the dogs,” he said.
Pack leader: Ho (second from left) together with members of the SAR Dogs Malaysia team holding their dogs (from left) IRO-certified Atom and Tar and dogs-in-training, Lucca and Leya. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
Among the challenges, he said, are attracting the “right people and dogs”.
“There must be chemistry. Dogs are off-leash and very much work on their own during missions.
“At the same time, the handler must have good control over the dog. It’s not easy to find a pairing like this,” he said, stressing that this is where the importance of training comes in.
Ho said the team, made up of volunteers, train twice a week – once on Sunday and again on Thursday night.
“Search and rescue training on Sunday evenings are usually in forestry or rubble-like areas which simulate real-life conditions.
“On Thursday nights, training focuses on obedience and dexterity. Here, they are taught how to go through tunnels, climb ladders and walk on unstable surfaces while being subject to all sorts of noises,” he said.
“Search dogs don’t look for scents like tracker dogs. They look for the generic scent, which everyone has,” he said.
As there will be other people around during a mission, Ho said the dog will ignore all those elements and look for the scent of someone whom they do not see.
“The training teaches them to ignore the scent of food around them and other search dogs in the area, and focus solely on finding the unseen generic human scent,” he said.
On the job: Tar training in areas that simulate real-life conditions. When search and rescue dogs have their vest on, they know that it’s time for duty.
The dog then barks upon finding the person to alert their handlers.
The group currently has 10 active volunteers. Six are dog handlers with the remaining four assisting training sessions.
SAR Dogs Malaysia is also associated with the Civil Defence Force (APM).
“Prior to cooperating with APM, we just finished training our first batch of dogs. Two were certified and ready for action.
“But we needed to be a member of a uniformed body to join operations.
“It was during this period that APM approached us. There were discussions and we both agreed to work together,” Ho said.
The cooperation, he said, also meant the group’s active members are APM volunteers, donning official uniforms during operations.
Among their missions was a search operation for Nora Anne Quoirin in 2019.
Nora, 15, went missing on Aug 4, 2019, a day after she and her family arrived in Malaysia for a two-week holiday at a resort in Pantai, Negri Sembilan, about 60km south of Kuala Lumpur.
Some 10 days after she went missing, her body was found near a creek in a ravine, about 2.5km from the resort where she and her family stayed.
“We were summoned and were part of the search team that went in. It was unfortunate that she had already died when she was found,” Ho said.
Found: Upon locating the victim, the search and rescue dog will bark to alert their handlers.
Another operation was the Batang Kali landslide in 2022.
The tragedy involved 92 victims – 61 of them were successfully rescued while 31 others perished.
“One of our dogs joined the operation. We were there for the first day.
“Our dogs are trained to rescue live persons and by the second day, it was clear that the victims would not survive,” he said, adding that cadaver dogs are the ones suited to search for dead bodies.
On being a winner of this year’s Star Golden Hearts Award (SGHA), he said the group does not look for public recognition or get much of the spotlight.
“The award has been ongoing for a decade now, alongside showcasing credibility and being well-known.
“This will help us as we need to attract the right people and dogs,” Ho added.
For their noble efforts, SAR Dogs Malaysia is named as one of the 10 winners of the SGHA 2024.
SGHA is an annual award by The Star that honours everyday Malaysian unsung heroes.
For more details, visit sgha.com.my.
