Introducing Maximus, the Manatee County, Florida’s two-and-a-half-year-old German Shepherd Search and Rescue dog. “Max” has been with this organization since he was eight weeks old, and according to Captain Michael Dvorack, is a real “goofball” until he knows it’s time to work, then he’s all business.
In addition to Max’s abilities as a certified Cadaver Dog for land and shoreline water searches, he is a National Narcotic Detection Dog as well. It is because Max is trained to function as a law enforcement dog as well as search and rescue, the National Police Dog Foundation is able to provide Manatee County with a K-9 equiped vehicle Heat Alarm.
Captain Dvorack told us a story of how Maximus did a “live find save” in June. While searching for a missing person who had been gone for about ten hours, Max was deployed to a heavily wooded area which was surrounded by a drainage ditch.
Max was given the command to search. However, when he got to the edge of the drainage ditch, he ran back to his handler. When his handler asked him what was up, Max ran back to the ditch whining, looked back at his handler and jumped in. His handler walked over to the ditch and he saw Max licking the missing person who was partially submerged in the water, still alive.
As Florida temperatures are often high, even in the winter, the Heat Alarm gives an added layer of protection to ensure that Max is safe while in the vehicle. The Heat Alarm grant has provided a double bonus as Max is sometimes accompanied by his older sister Nova, a retired HRD dog, who is now the teams public relations dog.
Thanks to generous contributions from donors like you and a matching grant from Spirit of Blue , the National Police Dog Foundation was able to provide a Heat Alarm grant for K-9 Maximus and Manatee County Search and Rescue.
Please help us save K-9s’ lives now! Please donate to our Heat Alarm Fund and save the lives of K-9s who are dying of heat exhaustion.
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.fusion-button.button-6{width:auto;}CLICK HERE To Learn More About Our K-9 Heat Alarm Fund