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Johnson County handler describes 13-day Texas flood search with trailing dog Rosie
Summary
White River County Fire Department handler Jeremy Pell told commissioners the county deployed a canine team and support staff to Texas under an Emergency Management Assistance Compact, returning with operational lessons, FEMA tools access and a certified trailing dog.
Jeremy Pell, a canine handler with the White River County Fire Department, told the Johnson County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 22 that he and his trailing dog Rosie spent 13 days deployed to Texas to search flood-affected areas.
Pell, describing the deployment under an EMAC (Emergency Management Assistance Compact), called it a success for the dog, the county animal shelter and local first responders. “We spent 13 days in Texas searching for flood victims,” Pell said, adding the team worked long days and coordinated with multiple agencies.
The presentation detailed the team composition and tools used. Pell said his five-person team in Texas included three canine handlers with dogs, an EMS support person and logistical and technology support; they used drones and a GIS story map to record search tracks. He said the dogs were certified through the International Police Work Dog Association and that the county gained access to FEMA’s SARCOP system for disaster tracking.
Pell described operational conditions: handlers covered “almost 33 miles” on foot, the dogs covered multiple times that distance, the team worked nine consecutive days with 12- to 14-hour shifts, temperatures reached 90–100 degrees and some debris piles approached 2,000 square feet. He said the team ran shoreline, area and targeted debris-pile searches and backed indications with multiple confirmations before excavating.
Pell credited local partners and the county animal shelter for Rosie’s training and reuse after abandonment, and thanked the sheriff’s office and other agencies for support. “Everybody came back safe. We served them well. I would say mission accomplished,” he said.
Why it matters: Pell said the deployment increased local capability by exposing personnel to large-scale, multiagency response practices and technical tools they can apply in Johnson County emergencies.
The commissioners did not take action on the presentation; Pell’s remarks were given as a public report to the board.
