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Public Safety


CORY THE RESCUE DOG HAS PASSED MANY TESTS. BUT HOW WILL HE DO DANGLING FROM A
FIREFIGHTING HELICOPTER?


San Diego Fire-Rescue firefighter Chad Arberg, who is a member of the Urban
Search & Rescue California Task Force 8 along with search dog Cory, look on as
Copter 3 takes off during a training exercise in Sycamore Canyon Open Space
Preserve in October. The two would later be hoisted up into the helicopter.
(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)


THE SAN DIEGO SEARCH-AND-RESCUE PUP IS TRAINED TO LOOK FOR SURVIVORS AFTER AN
EARTHQUAKE, BUILDING COLLAPSE OR CLIFF FAILURE — MISSIONS THAT MAY REQUIRE AN
AIRLIFT. A RECENT TRAINING HOISTED HIM AND HIS HANDLER INTO COPTER 3 FOR THE
FIRST TIME

By Karen Kucher
Nov. 5, 2023 5 AM PT
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SAN DIEGO  — 

It was noisy, with the chopper blades creating their own wind, as a
search-and-rescue dog named Cory and his handler were lifted by a hoist into a
hovering helicopter. The pup didn’t let any of it faze him.

Wearing googles to protect his eyes, Cory was strapped onto the chest of his
trainer, San Diego Fire-Rescue firefighter Chad Arberg, as they and Rescue Medic
Steve Vandewalle were pulled into the air by a cable. It was the first hoist for
the dog and Arberg.

San Diego Fire-Rescue’s Copter 3 hoists Helicopter Rescue Medic Steve Vandewalle
and firefighter Chad Arberg, with search dog Cory strapped to his chest, during
a training exercise.
(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The exercise — designed to prepare Cory for future missions when he might need
to be dropped off by a helicopter — went off without a hitch.

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“He did fantastic. He’s a trooper,” Arberg said later. “I think I was more
nervous than he was.”

Cory is trained to use his nose to find survivors trapped in the rubble after an
earthquake or under dirt and rocks if there’s a cliff collapse. He also can be
deployed in advance of a forecasted hurricane — so that he’d be ready to go to
work when the storm is over.

Arberg and Cory are members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s San
Diego Urban Search & Rescue California Task Force 8, which can be activated to
respond to natural and human-made disasters.

“We try to condition the dog to as many strange environments as possible to get
the dog acclimated so they can adapt to these weird experiences,” Arberg said.

The idea is to expose them to conditions they might find during a mission —
including needing to be dropped at a site by helicopter.

During the hoist exercise last month, Arberg and Cory were flown from
Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport and dropped off in the Sycamore Canyon Open
Space Preserve east of Scripps Ranch. Copter 3 returned, sent Vandewalle down to
the ground by cable and then flew in a circle while the trio got hooked together
before hoisting them into the air.

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They flew for awhile hanging off the cable before they were pulled up and
entered through the open door of the chopper.

VIDEO | 01:45
Cory the search-and-rescue dog


Cory didn’t get spooked by the noises or the hoist, or even the flight itself,
which was only his second time in a helicopter.

“I built a relationship with the dog over the years so I have a lot of
confidence in him,” Arberg said. “We train around loud noises like jackhammers.
He is able to soothe himself, and we soothed each other on that hoist.”

The two have been paired up for about 3½ years. Cory the rescue dog is a rescue
himself — he ended up in an animal shelter in Albuquerque, N.M., after his
adoptive family found him too high-energy to handle.

Someone there thought he’d make a good working dog, and he eventually was
trained at the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation.

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San Diego firefighter Chad Arberg flies with Cory in Copter 3.
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Cory is a “full fledged mutt,” a mix of cattle dog and Staffordshire bull
terrier and a bunch of other breeds, and thought to be about 5 or 6 years old,
Arberg said.

So far, the only mission Cory has been on came after a cliff collapsed in
Encinitas a few months ago. Luckily, no one was found beneath the rubble. Cory
is trained to find survivors; other dogs are trained to find bodies.

When he’s working, Cory doesn’t wear a collar to avoid getting snagged on
debris.

“The bottom line is he is a 48-pound dog and he could check an area much faster
than our high-tech equipment,” such as thermal imaging cameras or sensitive
sound equipment, Arberg said.

He is also trained to search open areas where a hiker or someone with dementia
could get lost, as well as conduct building searches.

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Helicopter Rescue Medic Steve Vandewalle, right, prepares firefighter Chad
Arberg along with search dog Cory to be hoisted by the helicopter.
(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

With Arberg assigned to the fire department’s recruiting unit, Cory spends a lot
of time doing demonstrations at high schools and college campuses. “He’s a good
ambassador,” Arberg said.

Sometimes students will volunteer to be pretend victims and hide in cupboards or
other spaces. Even in a room full of students, the dog can somehow smell for
someone he doesn’t have access to — and will signal when he finds the victim.

“He looks like a goofy puppy running along,” Arberg said, “but he’s cataloging
everyone in the room.”

Staff photojournalist K.C. Alfred contributed to this report.

Public SafetyLatestTop Stories
Karen Kucher

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