An unexpected dog rescue operation performed by two members of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Search & Rescue team captured on video has accumulated national attention and over 500,000 views on multiple social media platforms.
Search & Rescue Reserve Deputy Tony Buttitta and High Risk Volunteer Michael Kaericher were en route to a training mission in a remote area last Sunday at approximately 7:15 a.m, when they heard what sounded like a dog barking, Buttitta said on Saturday during a brief phone call.
They questioned whether the sound could be a coyote, but following the persistent sound from the four-legged animal, the Search & Rescue team members made the decision to abandon their scheduled mission.
“We were like, ‘Let’s check that out. What if a guy was up here hiking and he fell and he’s hurt and the dog is trying to alert us?” Buttitta said. “We didn’t want to ignore it.”
The dog barking ran down what Buttitta described as a very steep climb, toward him and Kaericher, but then would run up the mountain again, as if leading them toward something.
To their surprise, they found two additional dogs in the remote area, including a large pit bull named Oden who appeared to be exhausted and frightened, according to a now viral SCV Search & Rescue post shared on both Facebook and Instagram on Wednesday evening.
With no rescue equipment prepared, including lack of harnesses, the Search & Rescue members made the decision to carefully gain the trust of all three canines and perform a rescue operation, which was something they weren’t expecting to do that morning, Buttitta said.
Oden had a collar on with his owner’s phone number. Once they contacted the owners, Buttitta and Kaericher discovered that all three dogs resided on a farm and went missing overnight. They all had GPS tracking devices but due to the remote area, signal became a challenge.
The SCV Sheriff’s Station, and Animal Care and Control were notified of the rescue, and a few packages of hot dogs were requested to help coax the pack, according to the viral post.
The two smaller dogs were able to make their way down the canyon with ease but Oden did not want to move and both team members patiently reassured him and worked together to help him down the mountain, according to the post — all before the hot dogs had to be used.
Following the successful rescue operation, “we sent the whole pack of hot dogs home with them,” Buttitta said.
The canine rescue operation on Instagram has accumulated over 700,000 views as of the publication of this story, and on Facebook about 550,000. Buttitta has been receiving calls from media outlets all over the country since the post went viral and if it reached over a million, he said, “It’d be awesome.”
The SCV Search & Rescue team is a nonprofit organization that works under the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. It is entirely volunteer based and relies on donations.
One item the SCV Search & Rescue team has been attempting to purchase is specialized dog harnesses used in rescue operations, such as the one seen in the now-viral video. Each harness costs about $500, Buttitta said, adding that the team is asking members of the public who enjoyed the rescue video to consider donating.
“We’re available 24/7 365 (days a year). We respond to anything from missing kids, lost hikers, injured hikers, airplane crashes, vehicles over the side, all standard search and rescue stuff,” Buttitta said.
