Army's Jaki, Dixie, Sara search life under ruins in landslides-hit Wayanad

Three Labrador dogs from the Indian Army -- Jaki, Dixie, and Sara -- are working tirelessly to help locate survivors trapped under the debris in Kerala's landslide-ravaged areas of Wayanad district.

These highly trained canine companions are working alongside their human counterparts, braving challenging conditions like mud, slush and rain, to sniff out lives buried beneath the rubble.

The dogs are using their keen sense of smell to help find survivors trapped in the rubble.

"Human's Best Friend works with humans shoulder to should to find humans under the debris in #Wayanad.JAKI, DIXIE & SARA the three #labradordogs of the #IndianArmy are sniffing for lives tirelessly undeterred by mud, slush or rain @giridhararamane #OpMadad," a Defence PRO said in a post on X.

The canines were brought from the Dog Training Faculty (DTF) of RVC Centre and College in Meerut Cantt, Uttar Pradesh. The faculty, designated as a centre of excellence in dog training, trains dogs in nine specialties, including search and rescue.

The canines brought to Wayanad are Specialist Search and Rescue (SAR) dogs, trained to identify and indicate human scent under rubble, according to Defence sources.

They undergo 12 weeks of basic training, followed by 24 weeks of trade training, to prepare them for this critical responsibility.

These dogs can detect human body scent even under 10-12 feet of rubble.

When they sniff out human scent, they indicate the presence of humans buried under landslide rubble to their handlers, who then use tools to dig out and recover live or dead bodies.

These dogs have been previously deployed with great success, sources added.