Dogs are better than humans in so many ways – and countless heartwarming stories where our four-legged pals have been front and center prove that we don’t deserve them sometimes.
A search and rescue dog from Washington, D.C. named Kimber is no exception. Last July, a structure in the U.S. capital collapsed, where she and her teammates from the D.C. Fire and EMS unit were called to help. There, she saved a man who got stranded in some rubble.
Compared to her human colleagues, the FEMA-certified canine is fast and agile. She had with her a secret weapon – a powerful nose that could sniff the scent of survivors amidst the debris. According to the WUSA, the part-Belgian Malinois canine heroically descended beneath the destruction, which ultimately led her to the survivor. She alerted her companions to his location, and they immediately extracted him.
Chris Holmes, a firefighter and Kimber’s handler, explained that dogs are force-multipliers. And essentially, when they have people manually dig or do a physical search in an area, canines could sense the victim’s whereabouts using their noses. He also said that aside from informing them about the victim’s location, dogs can let them know if a victim is alive or dead. And Kimber did just that – she searched for living, concealed human scent amidst the destruction.
Based on a report by NBC Washington, the worker got trapped under three floors’ worth of rubble, with only eight inches of space surrounding him. Rescuers made use of saws, pry bars, and their hands to save him. It was all thanks to Kimber, who managed to sniff out the scent that led the team to him. And apparently, it was the first time the beloved canine managed to locate someone who got trapped inside a collapsed building.
In an interview with NBC, Fire Chief John Donnelly said they had encountered instances where the victims didn’t survive. Of the man’s rescue, he said that he was definitely blessed that day.
And blessed he was. Thank you for your service, Kimber!
Source: WUSA9 / YouTube