Nebraska Task Force One has lost a dedicated member.
In a Friday social media post, NE-TF1 announced that Watson, a K9 on the team, has passed away. The agency said Watson “impacted many lives” while responding to disaster scenes across the county.
“We will miss him,” the post concluded.
NE-TF1 is one of 28 Urban Search & Rescue teams in the national disaster response system. Team K9’s assist in search efforts by using their sense of smell to detect human scent, even from individuals trapped in rubble. The K9’s job is to locate victims during disasters and alert their handlers to their location.
In addition to training K9s to locate victims in a disaster, the handler also receives additional training which aids in their safety and ability to function effectively and safely in a disaster situation. More information about NE-TF1’s K9 program is available at nebraskataskforce1.com.