So, many of you know I have a certified HRD search dog and spend a lot of time training her and working with our team. HRD means Human Remains Detection.... or more commonly, a cadaver dog.

If you have ever wondered exactly how we train a dog to do this work.... yes, we train with real human remains because nothing else will work. Well, they have produced an 88 minute movie, more accurately, a documentary style movie about one of the folks who worked and introduced HRD dogs to the mainstream by incorporating them into the Rhode Island State Police dept. Matthew Zarrella turns "unadoptable" dogs into true heroes. One dog was saved just 2 hrs before it was to be put down since it had been adopted and returned numerous times due to behavior issues. If I recall, that dog was Ruby. He also worked with human aggressive dogs in the movie..... showing that all dogs simply need to be trained properly.

If you know the back story on my dog Lilly, that's how we came to get her. Owner surrender, due to her being out of control. After training, she has become quite the loyal dog.

They cover Matt's story and how he started the program in RI from his selection of the dogs to introducing them to odor and through their training to certification and eventual deployment. You'll hear him refer to "Rebman" in the movie... that's a reference to Andy Rebman who has written the definitive handbook on training HRD dogs. Andy is kinda like the godfather of search dogs and his book is considered to be the "bible" to HRD handlers.

The movie is available to view for FREE to anyone who has an Amazon Prime account in the video section. Just search for SEARCHDOG and you can find it. A few dogs to pay attention to as you watch... Ruby, and Maximus. They are throughout and at the end.

I watched it last night with my wife. It was engaging and pretty close to how it is out there in the real world. It wasn't a made for Hollywood story like some other "dog" movies that have been out in recent years. Lilly, my dog, was on the floor and mostly slept through the whole movie.... not even the on-screen barking elicited more than a glance the first time.... it was nap time for her.

Watch it if you are interested in such things.

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 07/12/19 09:19 AM.

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