Exclusive Coverage of the Air Self-Defense Force’s Guard Dog Jennifer in Training During the Noto Peninsula Earthquake

Jennifer,” a security dog, dives through rubble with poor footholds. The dog was so light that it was almost stunning.

On the first day of this year, the Noto Peninsula Earthquake hit Ishikawa Prefecture with a maximum intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic scale. Self-defense forces and security dogs were dispatched to the scene to search and rescue missing persons. The “Jennifer” belonging to the Air Self-Defense Force Hamamatsu Air Base in Shizuoka Prefecture was dispatched to a search operation in Wajima City (Ishikawa Prefecture), where many buildings had collapsed, at around 3:50 pm on the evening of January 3.

Self-Defense Forces Staff Sgt. 3rd Class Kenta Shimizu, who was involved in the search and rescue operation, recalls the situation at the time.

Jennifer” was first mobilized at that time. “She smelled the elderly woman within 4 to 5 minutes and rushed to the location of the elderly woman, barking ‘woof woof’ to let us know the location of the person in need of rescue. Lifelines were down at the time, so we had to watch out for infectious diseases and be especially careful not to drink muddy water.

The Air Self-Defense Force has about 150 security dogs. What kind of roles do they play on a daily basis?

Their main duties are to patrol the base and watch for suspicious persons. In addition, they are also tasked with detecting explosives and suspicious objects by utilizing their sense of smell, which is said to be about 100 million times greater than that of humans. In recent years, they have been engaged in search and rescue operations in large-scale disaster areas, such as the Noto Peninsula earthquake and the mudslide disaster in Atami City (Shizuoka Prefecture) in 2009,” said a public relations officer at the Air Self-Defense Force Hamamatsu Air Base, External Relations Office.

Among the security dogs that protect people’s safety on a daily basis, the Jennifer is “different” from other dogs.

Jennifer was an elite dog that had passed the International Rescue Dog test with her handler at the time, and was qualified as both a “security dog” and an “international rescue dog. However, this certification becomes invalid when the handler is changed, so Jennifer has been training hard with a new handler since April this year to re-acquire the certification.

(The same applies to the Jennifer.)” Regarding the daily training, Airman 3rd Class Yuma Yamauchi, the second-generation handler of the Jennifer, said, “Normally, we train by familiarizing ourselves and obeying the rules.

We usually conduct ‘basic training,’ which includes familiarization, obedience, and pursuit of footprints, and ‘applied training,’ which includes personnel search, detection of explosives, suppression of suspicious persons, and vigilance,” said Airman 3rd Class Yuma Yamauchi, the second-generation handler. Jennifer’s workday starts at 8:15 a.m., the same time as the rest of us, and she alternates between training and guarding/warning duties. Naturally, dogs get tired just like humans do, so we are careful not to overwork them while checking their facial expressions. In order to make the most of their sense of smell, we always check the direction of the wind and try to give instructions from downwind.

During the training on this day, Mr. Yamauchi blew a spray in the air to check the wind direction. He gave instructions to the Jennifer from downwind and had her find another crew member who was hiding in the training hut.

When people are confined in a small space, they emit a unique scent without even knowing it,” Yamashita said. Dogs search by scent, so in actual training, they practice by dressing in sweat clothes and hiding in hard-to-find places in anticipation of a disaster. Once they succeed in finding the dogs, we gradually increase the difficulty level by expanding the search area and changing people,” says Mr. Yamauchi.

A New Challenge for an “Elite Dog

Jennifer, a 4-year-old female Belgian Shepherd Dog Malinois, was assigned to the Hamamatsu base at the age of 2, and after about a year of training, she was certified as a former handler and international rescue dog at the age of 3.

Jennifer is a bright girl who just loves to play. She loves to play and is very happy to be here,” said Jennifer. When she listens to commands, we praise her, play with toys, and then train her again – repeating this process maintains Jennifer’s willingness to search. However, because of the breed’s spontaneous nature, the handler needs to lead her well. My role is to bring out her high potential while finding enjoyment.

It has been about four months since they started working as a pair in April this year. What are Yamauchi’s and Jennifer’s goals now?

I want them to trust that they will be safe if they work with me. Jennifer doesn’t follow other people when they call her name, but stays next to me and follows my instructions alone. I would be happy if she feels comfortable being next to me. And of course, I plan to try to re-certify as an International Rescue Dog as soon as I can!”

Jennifer, who works hard at her duties without regard for danger, is aiming for even higher goals with Mr. Yamauchi, whom she trusts.

From the August 16, 2024 issue of FRIDAY