PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – In this week’s Sunday Spotlight, KDKA-TV featured a nonprofit organization that is made up of heroes with four paws.

The Steel City K9 Emergency Response Team works tirelessly to find missing people in our area.

A lot of training and preparation goes into getting the K9s and their handlers ready to search in all kinds of weather and terrain.

We got an inside look at how they learn to respond when someone’s life may be at stake.

These canines love to play, just like any other pup, but they have an important job. They use their keen sense of smell to chase clues and sniff out missing people.

The dogs are certified in trailing, air scent and human remains detection.

Steel City K9 ERT has six certified canines, including two Belgian Malinois/Dutch Shepherd mixes.

“We have Nala. She’s handled by Barb Shanahan. She’s a human remains detection dog, and we have Mayhem who’s handled by Michelle. She is a live find, air scent dog.” said Barbra Karner, president of Steel City K9 ERT.

They also have a Brittany.

“We also have Squish who is handled by Heather. She is also a live find dog,” she said.

They also have a Vizsla.

“We also have Otto who is a human remains detection dog and he is handled by Heather as well,” Karner said.

Last but not least, they have a Dobermann on their team.

“Nico is training in air scent for live find,” she said.

The K9s couldn’t do it without their human volunteers.

Together, they respond to calls from firefighters and law enforcement, including Allegheny County homicide detectives, and Pittsburgh Police, to search for people, whether they’re dead or alive.

The well-trained teams are deployed to comb areas for victims of homicides, drownings, cold cases, and missing elderly people and children.

“Regardless of the status of the person, our goal is to bring them back to their families. That’s why we’re here, we all love dogs, we love working together but at the end of the day our goal is to help families,” Karner said.

Some of the women with Steel City K9 ERT have been training dogs together for 13 years.

Karner said they decided to start their own team in 2019.

“I personally got into it; my son actually was missing. He was found within an hour but that was probably the worst hour of my life… so that sort of got me interested in the whole idea of that, of search and rescue and the need,” Karner said.

To keep the dogs’ minds sharp and the handlers on the same page, the group of women trains their K9s to the highest standards.

“We start training the dogs as young as possible, ideally from puppies but we do get adult dogs that start training later in life and there’s many, many hours every week of training,” Karner said.

The pooches put their powerful noses, obedience, and agility to the test.

“We train for all weather, rain, sleet, snow, heat, hills, you know often times we’re by creeks, fast-moving creeks so we all have water rescue awareness,” Karner said.

The handlers have different skills, some worked in law enforcement. Karner is a veterinarian.

They’re certified in various types of first aid, and trained in search and rescue techniques, and crime scene management.

They are ready at a moment’s notice to start scouring areas with or without their best friend.

“Oftentimes it is a matter of life and death for someone who been out in the elements, you know an hour can make a difference, so we know that we need to get out there and get our job done and get it done efficiently,” she said.

They went out on 40 calls last year. They’ve had at least seven so far this year.

When they’re not following their nose, the doggies show their laid-back side at free community outreach events with kids.

“We have what’s called ‘hug a tree’ presentation that we do and essentially, we’re teaching kids what to do if they were to become lost, how to not get lost in the first place. But the main point of that program is if kids are lost, they should stay put,” Karner said.

She explained how it feels when smart canines pick up a scent and track down someone’s loved one.

“My dog’s retired now, but she’s a live find dog and as a parent when you find someone’s kid it’s overwhelming to be honest because I know the feeling if your kid is missing. So, to see that kid alive is overwhelming as you can see,” said Karner.

She said it’s also overwhelming when the K9s fetch answers for families in pain.

“You see the anguish that the parents are going through, and they really just want to bring their family member, even if they are deceased. As long as they’re missing, there’s always that hope in the back of your mind that they’re alive somewhere, so it is good to kind of give them that closure,” Karner said.

The “ruff” work pays off for the human and four-legged volunteers.

Most of their costs go toward safety and training equipment, training and travel costs, and GPS collars. 

You can donate to Steel City K9 Emergency Response Team on their website at this link and 100-percent of your donation goes directly to supporting the team’s expenses. 

There’s also the opportunity to get a look at their work on their Facebook page!

If you’d like to see an organization highlighted on KDKA-TV, just reach out to me at jguay@kdka.com or send me a message on social media.