Robert L. Hoover

On Sunday, September 7, the Presidio will be visited by Adela Morris and several four-footed graduates of her Institute of Canine Forensics. For some time, the Institute has been sending out teams of these specially trained dogs to help officials search for long-missing persons at such places as the World Trade Center in New York, the site of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the Loma Prieta and Mexico City Earthquakes, the Oakland Firestorm, and the Oklahoma City bombing site. But, the use of these remarkable human remains detection (HRD) dogs has become very specialized and is one of the most promising recent tools available to archaeologists. HRD dogs trained specifically to locate historical bodies have assisted scientists identifying the Donner Camp at Alder Creek, cemetery plots on Pilot Hill in Truckee, at Half Moon Bay, and the El Dorado Hills, all in California. They also identified a mass grave from the 1815 Napoleonic Wars in the Czech republic. Working with Professor Russ Skowronek, they are helping to identify burials in the Mission Santa Clara cemetery.

Dogs have successfully partnered with their human friends for over 12,000 years, the longest such planned relationship with any species. Originally descended from the northern wolf and perhaps the southern jackal, ancestral dogs were gregarious scavengers, lived in stable family groups, shared food, engaged in cooperative hunting, and recognized a dominance hierarchy that made them easy to domesticate. Attracted to the campfires of early hunters, they learned to dodge missiles and to catch scraps of food thrown from the cooking areas. As domestic dogs, they received regular meals, health care, and the companionship which they craved. Women and children may have played an especially important role in the domestication of dogs as pups. As human masters replaced pack leaders, they received partners that helped to protect the home and family, aided in hunting and herding, provided power for transportation as pack or sled dogs, and as partners in warfare.

The skeletons of some domestic dogs (shepherds, huskies, etc.) are difficult to distinguish from those of wolves, but dogs were definitely domesticated by the beginning of the Mesolithic Period (ca. 10,000 B. C.), when husky and alsatian breeds were being developed to serve the needs of diversified hunters. In Europe, sheepdogs were developed by 2,500 B. C. to aid Neolithic herders. Hounds and terriers appeared around 750 B. C. to deal with the faster game and quarry that burrowed in the ground, due to their acute sense of smell. Numerous rock paintings, monuments, and other art around the world shows dogs playing an important role in human activities.

The ancient Greeks used dogs as guards in the 5th century B. C., where they raised the alarm when a town was attacked. The sole canine survivor of one such attack was awarded a pension for life and a silver collar by the grateful citizens of the town. Greek doctors used dogs to determine whether a patient was still alive or not. A wagging tail indicated life; a silent dog meant that the person was indeed deceased. Aristotle compiled a list of known dog breeds in 350 B. C., noting the merits of each.

Sled dogs were bred by the native people of the Arctic as an important aid for survival in a very harsh environment. Alaskan malamutes originated with the Mahlemiut Eskimos of the upper Avirk River in Alaska. They were large freighting dogs, capable of pulling tremendous loads. In January, 2000, my wife and I experienced the thrill of mushing sleds pulled by these energetic dogs through the tundra of Quebec with no visible effort. These malamutes, when on hind legs, placed their paws on our shoulders and looked down at us! Siberian huskies originated with the Chuckchi people of northeastern Siberia. They were smaller and faster than the malamutes and were used for herding reindeer as well as for pulling sleds. They were brought to Alaska during its gold rush.

Nearly 400 specialized breeds of dogs are recognized today, each with its own special attributes. While they still serve the sport hunter and herder, they also have been employed in other ways. Used regularly in warfare for over a century, hundreds served bravely and loyally in Vietnam, reducing American casualties. Survivors of the war were outrageously abandoned to starve in their kennels or killed after American withdrawal. Their devoted handlers have now dedicated a monument in Washington to their memory. Recently, dogs have been recognized to be of therapeutic value to ill patients of all ages. They have also been used to recognize the presence of cancer in humans before it can be medically detected.

Dogs have about 220,000,000 olfactory cells compared to about 500 in the human nose. Canine noses are about 44% more effective than their human counterparts, definitely giving them a superior sense of smell. Dogs have been used regularly since World War I to recover wounded casualties hiding on large battlefields. Dogs recognize that the scents of living and dead humans are different. However, ancient remains also have a different odor than recent cadavers. Historical HRD dogs can be trained specifically to alert to old bones, teeth, and grave soil. Work in snow, rubble, etc., each requires different training and acclimatization. The dogs also need to be trained to ignore the pin flags often used to mark alert sites.

Most forensic dogs search with their heads up, gathering scents from the air. Historic HRD dogs, however, keep noses close to the ground to pick up buried scents. Bone, teeth, coffin wood, and grave soil all retain traces of residual human scent. How accurate are these dogs? Recent tests have proven accuracy for remains up to 2,000 years old! Puppies start training for this specialized task at about seven weeks of age, though training may occur anytime during the first two years. While live scent is easy to identify, good historical HRD dogs can distinguish between recent and ancient scents. What breeds are best? Surprisingly, bloodhounds and beagles are not common. Most HRD dogs are working breeds (German shepherd, Australian shepherd, dobermans, Belgian cart dogs) or mixed breeds.

The effectiveness of an HRD dog’s search is affected by the need to acclimatize to each new area to rule out distracting background scents and by the level of fatigue that the dogs experience (they need frequent breaks, too). Alert signals are indicated when a dog lies down or sits on a location. For each correct alert, the dog receives a treat to reward positive behavior. Canine searches do not disturb a site in any way, as the dogs do not dig, and it is much less expensive than geophysical methods. As in geophysics, an HRD search depends on optimal conditions (47-75 degree temperature, slight wind, high humidity). Perfect for Santa Barbara! I urge you all to take this rare opportunity to see these dogs in action. Like dogs everywhere, they give so much and ask for so little. Maybe they will be able to locate the burials outside our chapel under the statue of King Carlos III. Stay tuned for the next issue of La Campana, when Mike Imwalle will present the results of the exciting canine survey in and around our presidio chapel.