ANNVILLE, Pa. — Jumping through acres of Lebanon County farmland may look like fun and games, but for Raven, the German Shepard, it’s all part of her training with Special Unit 66.
“The more we work the dog, the more we train the dog, the more they will know what to do," said Chief Mark Sallada of Special Unit 66.
Thirty-five dogs and 75 search and rescue personnel are on hand for the Unit’s third annual mass training event in Annville. Chief Sallada says these trainings keep rescue units and dogs prepared for missing persons cases, and free up other first responders like fire companies.
“You’d have all these fire trucks and all this manpower out and tying up a lot of resources for a missing person," said Sallada. "We’re here to help that so that we can keep the fire guys and gals available.”
Dogs and their handlers will be working their way through various paths during the training, while crews in the command trailer track the unit’s progress.
“It’s orchestrated chaos; that’s basically what it can be," said Timothy Sholly, the chief engineer for Special Unit 66. "Not long after that, it will get dead quiet for a while until something happens.”
Rescue units and man’s best friend are working together to keep themselves prepared for real missing person cases.
“It is a perishable skill," said Sholly. "So, when we have major trainings like this, it really helps in-set that training again to keep yourself sharp.”
The Special Unit 66 Mass Training Event runs through Sunday afternoon.