A concert for man's best friend

On Sept 27, the Philippine K9 Search and Rescue (PhK9SAR) Foundation, with the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), will host a fundraising concert dubbed “Dog Day Afternoon 2008,” a musical event that would make Beethoven – both the composer and the dog – proud.

The PhK9SAR started out as the dream of a group of civic-oriented individuals and dog trainers and breeders. Established on Feb 9, 2003, the foundation aims to encourage respect for dogs and bring recognition to their talents and abilities, especially in the field of search and rescue.

PhK9SAR is the first, and currently the only, group of its kind in Asia. A member of the National Association for Search and Rescue based in the US, PhK9SAR was the only K9 search and rescue group to participate as delegates to the ASEAN Regional Disaster Exercise held in Cambodia in September 2006.

PhK9SAR offers intensive training courses for handlers and support volunteers, including International Red Cross basic life support, collapsed structure search and rescue, basic mountaineering, map, compass and GPS reading, canine first aid, and jungle survival. Training for search and rescue dogs, on the other hand, includes obedience, control, agility, and temperament – search and rescue dogs are conditioned to remain calm during gunfire and be comfortable moving in any terrain. Search and rescue dogs are able to trace scents up to 40 feet below ground level and even up to100 feet under water. Together, handler and canine form a rescue team that, at its best, is unbeatable.

Though the foundation is only six years old, they have been able to help in search and rescue operations during major calamities that have hit the country. Among these are the Quezon province mudslide in December 2004, the Guinsaogon, Leyte landslide in February 2006 and the Guinobatan, Albay mudslide in December 2006. A single canine team is said to be equivalent to 30 human searchers. With eight teams trained and accredited, PhK9SAR is able to provide the equivalent of 240 people digging in the rubble. During calamities in the country, Filipinos no longer need to wait days for assistance to arrive from the US or Europe. This advantage often makes the difference between life and death at disaster sites.

For all their hard and invaluable work, all a dog needs is a small treat and a pat on the head. But there are many other aspects to a rescue effort, such as transportation, certification, special equipment, and provisions, which are much more expensive. PhK9SAR and the Philippine National Red Cross thus hold an annual benefit concert to raise much needed funds to meet these costs.

Dog Day Afternoon 2008 is co-chaired by Renee Speltz, PhK9SAR chairman emeritus, PNRC chairman Richard Gordon, and Kumiko Kuroda, wife of ADB president Haruhito Kuroda. The concert will feature light classical pieces that will be sung and played by top musicians, including sopranos Camille Lopez and Jennifer Uy. Kuroda herself will perform on the recorder. A moving rendition of “Climb Every Mountain” from “Sound of Music,” which could very well be the theme song for search and rescue dogs, will feature four hands and two sopranos. Kumiko will also prewpare a special merienda menu for the guests who attend the event at her home in South Forbes Park, Makati City.

Proceeds from the concert will go to PNRC’s Project 143, a program that trains 43 volunteers in every barangay. PhK9SAR, on the other hand, will use their funds to continue training more search and rescue teams.

In a country that is constantly affected by calamities, both natural and man-made, the aid of groups like the Red Cross and Philippine K9 Search and Rescue are much needed. For disaster victims, a comforting voice, and even the bark of a rescue dog, is definitely music to their ears.

For tickets to Dog Day Afternoon 2008 on Sept 27, 2:30 pm, call tel 687-8546. To know more, visit www.phk9sar.org/site/