K9's Sasha and Winnie Sue help find missing people and human remains

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

0 1 minute read

PLEASANT TOWNSHIP − Not everyone who works at the Pleasant Township Fire Department has two legs. Sasha and Winnie Sue, aka Batgirl, have four.

They are the two members of the department's K9 unit, which is responsible for searching for missing people and human remains. Sasha has worked in the fire service since 2019 and Winnie Sue started in January. Both are German Shepherds.

Winnie Sue is not quite 2 years old and will eventually replace 6 year old Sasha in the department probably in about two years.

Jeaneene Crowell is the dog owner. She also works with local law enforcement and others when needed. Dogs do not help apprehend suspects like police dogs. The pair is strictly intended for search and rescue missions.

Fire Chief Michael Hutton said the dogs were searching for victims trapped in Indian Lake following a recent tornado.

“They are a very valuable addition to our department,” he said.

Crowell works with Triple Threat Canine in Baltimore and the U.S. Army Recruiting Office in Lancaster to help train the dogs.

“Both of my dogs are nationally certified in detecting human remains, also known as cadaver dogs,” Crowell said. “And live dogs. They specialize in tracing, which is a combination of aerial sniffing and tracking.”

Crowell said his training with both dogs was specific to the scent.

“We train them to detect a certain odor in a highly contaminated area,” she explained. “When we usually arrive at the scene, they are contaminated not only by the family members who searched, but also by the community, law enforcement and firefighters. So there could be 50 footprints that we will have to try to sort with our dogs to find this specific smell.

When searching for a person, Crowell will ask a family member for clothing or something they recently owned, such as a pillowcase, to learn the missing person's scent.

In addition to working for the fire department and others, Sasha and Winnie Sue have social media accounts. Sasha can be found on TikTok at Sashafiredog and Winnie Sue is at K9 Batgirl.

Sasha's Facebook page is Shez Simply Sasha Search and Rescue K9 and Winnie Sue is at Winnie Sue AKA Batgirl.

Lina Portman

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