MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — At just ten weeks old, one little black lab has a bright future. Not only will she grow up to become a search and rescue dog with Northeast Search and Rescue (NESAR), but she and her handler are teaching students at Hamilton Elementary School near Stroudsburg about their jobs' importance.
"Most kids, they're familiar with the fire department, the police, but they don't see search and rescue very often. So we're letting them know that we are out there in the community should something happen where they were to get lost or trapped somewhere, that they will have a dog that's coming to find them and to not be worried, that it's OK. These dogs are specially trained for that," said Gilliana Schwartz, president of Northeast Search and Rescue.
Northeast Seach and Rescue serve eastern and central Pennsylvania and the tri-state area. They work emergency searches for people and cover water rescues and recoveries.
The yet-to-be-named puppy is one of 17 dogs on the team. They are all in various stages of training.
Second grader Emily Miller was excited to learn about what these dogs do.
"The dog would help people and find people."
Through donations, students at Hamilton Elementary can choose between Artemis, Raven, And onyx for the puppy's new name.
"We don't receive any local, state, or federal funding. This is all by donation that we run our team. So we do our best to fundraise all year long, and this time the school's been nice enough to help us out. So, the students are raising money, but voting for the name," Schwartz said.
For $1, students cast their vote for their favorite name.
The puppy's name will be announced on the Northeast Search and Rescue Facebook page on Sunday at 6 p.m.
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