Mexico sending best sniffer dogs to search quake survivors in Turkey

Following the earthquake on Monday, Mexico is sending some of its well-known search and rescue dogs to Turkey to assist in the search for missing people. Earlier on Tuesday, a flight from Mexico City took off with 16 dogs on board.

Teams of highly trained civilian and military personnel are frequently sent to help when calamities hit in earthquake-prone Mexico.

The dogs captured the hearts of Mexicans by saving many lives during the country’s 2017 earthquake.

When Frida, a yellow Labrador Retriever, was spotted in Mexico City looking for survivors while wearing safety goggles and boots, she instantly became a household name.

The navy reported that during operations in Mexico, Haiti, Guatemala, and Ecuador, Frida saved 12 lives and discovered 40 corpses.

While Frida passed away from old age last year, at least one of her canine coworkers from the 2017 Mexico earthquake will travel to Turkey with a Mexican Navy crew.

Belgian Malinois named Ecko and his naval handler were spotted at the Mexico City airport.
However, the deployment goes beyond the military. Los Topos de Tlatelolco (The Moles of Tlatelolco), a civilian search and rescue organisation, is also en route.

The group of extremely skilled volunteers had messaged Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign minister, offering their assistance.

After a short while, Mr. Ebrard replied that the Turkish embassy in Mexico City had helped to arrange transportation for them.

The foreign minister also shared a video of a Red Cross volunteer travelling on an aircraft with his dog.

In the clip, Angel Daniel Hernández claims that since adopting his German Shepherd, Rex, five years ago, he has been training him. Mexico is not the only nation that is sending dogs to aid in the rescue operations in Syria and Turkey.

Additionally using dogs and their handlers are Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Libya, Poland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The use of heavy gear could force the rubble to collapse even farther, endangering the lives of survivors. In these situations, animals are frequently used.

The dogs are taught to detect human odour and inform their owners by barking and scratching the area of the ground with the highest odour.