The importance of the certification of dogs in the search and rescue activity in the Fire Department

Abstract

Dogs have a high learning capacity, which allowed them to adapt to human life. One of the tasks developed by dogs in aid of man is to work in search and rescue. The training of dogs to work with search requires time, patience, and technical training, which demands high investments. Certification is a guarantee that the man/dog binomial has the minimum qualification to act, whenever triggered. This article aims to discuss the importance of the certifications of dogs used in search and rescue operations, as a way to ensure the preparation of the dog to act in inhospitable environments, as well as justify the investment in the area. The certification is one of the tools used in quality management, which has as main objective to ensure that the entire production process of a company, from the acquisition of raw material to the offer of the product to the market, is under strict supervision, thus avoiding failures that contribute to the loss of quality of the final product. Considering the great managerial advances that the Military Firefighters Corps of Minas Gerais has been going through, seeking to optimize the expenditure of public money and, still, improve the quality of services provided to society, the certification of the binomial man/dog stands out as an important management tool concluding the production chain of an activity performed with excellence and dedication and offering a product of guaranteed quality. Certification is the way to justify the high investment in search and rescue activity with dogs.