Carol Stream senior residents help with K-9 search and rescue training

CAROL STREAM, Ill. (WGN) – Four legged heroes are often a crucial part of search and rescue operations, and on Sunday, residents at a senior living community in Carol Stream had the chance to be hands-on with their training.

Several volunteer handlers and their K-9s with Illinois Wisconsin (ILLWIS) Search Dogs teamed up with residents of Covenant Living at Windsor Park to mimic possible real-life scenarios.

“I knew our residents would love it, and then the flip side of that is that the day may come when somebody is missing, and we need help locating them,” said Bunny Mirrilees.

Because the terrain of search and rescue operations can be unpredictable, the 40-acre senior living community, which has trees, ponds, trails, and several buildings, offered a spot where K-9s and their handlers could explore unfamiliar ground.

Mirrilees, the church and community relations coordinator for the facility, said the idea to team up came on the heels of a program previously held, where ILLWIS volunteers came out to explain to residents what they do and how they do it.

“To see them be excited to go find a scent trail is really interesting,” said Mirrilees. “It looks like those dogs are not going to have a hard time finding even the people who are further away.”

ILLWIS K-9s are trained in several areas, including scent-specific tracking and trailing, human remains detection, and water and ice recovery in drownings.

The capabilities of the dogs cover a wide range, including the skill to locate cadaver, hidden graves, bone, and blood evidence at places like fire scenes, the ability to work from boats, shore, and on frozen bodies of water to identify locations of submerged bodies, and the ability to follow the scent of one person, regardless of how many people, vehicles, or animals may have “contaminated” that area.

On Sunday, the training was specifically focused on scent tracking.

“They have to ignore everything else and just follow that one person,” said K-9 handler Jenni Bidner.

With around 650 residents living in the community, there was a possibility for countless scents, but the dogs focused on the one person they were tracking and stayed the course.

“It’s very important to be doing this type of training because these are the type of callouts that we get, people that walk away from memory care facilities, from nursing homes,” said Janet Anagnos, handler for 7-year-old Ryker, a German Shepherd certified in trailing and human remains detection. “Our dogs have been used for autistic children, for seniors missing from facilities like this.”

There were a variety of scenarios presented Sunday, many which became more intricate as the day unfolded. Some of those included people hiding near trees in a field and in more difficult locations to be found.   

“Our dogs are like little kids so what we started with this morning is what we call a motivational trail. Very short, it was very fun, and it kind of hyped up the dogs and got them ready for the day,” Bidner said.

Though the dogs appear to carry out their searches with ease, the handlers said their training is constant, with sessions once a week. There are also factors, including hot and humid weather, that can affect tracks, which is why these exercises are crucial.

“We train for trails anywhere for an hour hold to 24 hours old, and we’ll try to push it beyond that a little bit too,” said Anagnos.

Because the organization is entirely volunteer, including any callouts it gets, the handlers choose their dogs.

“All the breeds have positives and negatives and things they do better, and that’s what gives us a well-rounded team,” said Bidner, who has been doing this for 27 years.

It takes about two years to train the dogs to operation levels, the team said, and most dogs are certified annually by nationally recognized law enforcement associations. The organization has served police and fire agencies for close to 40 years.

“If we can help the people who help us so frequently it’s a win-win for everybody,” Mirrilees said.

Linda Keen, a handler, was at Sunday’s training with her 11-year-old dog Angel, who is certified in all areas of detection the organization does, including trailing, human remains, and water recovery. Angel has been doing this since she was about three months old and it was clear she was excited to get in on the action Sunday.   

“She wants to get to work. She’s not happy if she’s not working,” said Keen.

In a best-case scenario, the K-9 teams will find a person alive and well, but the reality of search and rescue is that they may be looking for someone who has already passed. Despite the possibility of unfavorable outcomes, they know the work they are doing is crucial to getting answers and potential closure for people searching for their missing loved ones.

“It’s incredibly difficult for us as handlers but also rewarding because we know we’ve helped,” said Bidner.

The organization has had around 1,000 call outs in its 40 years of operation.