Haiti Dog Names

After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, search and rescue dogs from around the world were sent to the country in hopes of locating survivors in the rubble. One such dog was Hunter, a Border Collie who was trained by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation to find people that are buried alive. Hunter’s training paid off when he and his handler, Bill Monahan, a firefighter from Los Angeles, located three girls who were trapped alive in the rubble of a four-story building. Despite being under four feet of broken concrete, Hunter found the scent of the survivors and barked to alert his handler. Monahan and Hunter were a part of the California Task Force 2, which included 72 members, who were sent to find victims buried in the rubble. The team includes six live-scent dogs (including Hunter).

Another dog that made an impact in Haiti was Spirit. After the earthquake in 2010, the pup located 11 people who had been killed and trapped underneath the rubble. For more than a decade the yellow Labrador Retriever joined her human partner, Hilda Wood on recovery missions, the two seeking to give families closure by located loved ones who had died.

When Hilda, a firefighter, first brought home Spirit, she was seeking a dog who could help in rescue missions. Initially, Spirit was trained on live rescues, however since there was a need for a dog who was trained in recovering human remains, Spirit stepped up. In addition to her recovery work in Haiti, Spirit also visited with children in the hospital. While this was not a typical task for her, she impacted the kids she visited, forming a bond with a boy who was a double amputee and lost both of his parents. When not working, Spirit loved to run and swim. In August 2018, Spirit herself passed away, just before her 15^th birthday.