February 5, 2014
As part of the FORS 200 - Forensic Seminar guest lecture series, John Beck, cadaver detection dog trainer and handler, brought his K9 Jasper to discuss using search dogs to find human remains.
Beck and Jasper, a Labrador Retriever trained as a cadaver detection dog, demonstrated how she uses her olfactory senses to ascertain the location of human remains. Beck noted that humans have been using dogs for as long as we can remember because of their superior sense of smell, hearing and eyesight.
Beck claims there are two things a search dog must be trained to do: find a specific scent, and indicate it to the handler. He has trained Jasper to use aggressive indications like barking and scratching to identify the location of human remains. Beck indicated that Cadaver dogs, unlike many other detector dogs, are usually civilians and their handlers are volunteers.