Read the full article on KETV 7
>> WHEN IT COMES TO SEARCH AND RESCUE MISSIONS WERE USED TO SEEING DOGS AND HELICOPTERS. WELL, THE PEACE RIVER K 9 SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM HAS ADDED A NEW AND KIND OF UNEXPECTED MEMBER GULF COAST NEWS REPORTER SARAH MIKE WOODS WITH THE NORTH PORT TO SEE FOR HERSELF. >> WELL, THIS IS SPLASHY MIGHT LOOK LIKE YOUR REGULAR OTTER, BUT HE’S ACTUALLY SEARCH AND RESCUE CERTIFIED READY TO JUMP IN THE WATER AND FIND ANYONE WHENEVER HE’S WERE WERE TOUGH. >> YES, GOOD BOY. THANK FULL HAD JUST 2 YEARS OLD. THE ASIAN SMALL-CLAWED OTTER ALREADY HAS HIS PAWS ON OVER 30 MISSIONS WITH 8 RECOVERY. SO FAR, HE’S VERY COMPETITIVE. HE LIKES TO COMPETE AGAINST THE DOG’S. THE MAN BEHIND THE OTTER IS MICHAEL HAD SO WITH THE PEACE RIVER K 9 SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM. I’M HE’S HUMAN. HE KNOWS THAT HE COMES TO MAKE IS, YOU KNOW, IS ON MY FEET AND TAKE CARE OF THEM. >> AND HE HAS THAT BOND WITH ME SPLASHES AND JUST Q, HE’S CRUCIAL FOR FINDING MISSING PEOPLE. >> THE ONLY CRITTER THAT AS MOBILE THAT CAN TRANSPORT AND USING DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, THE KIND OF TRAINS UP LIKE THE OTHER ANIMALS DO LIKE THE DOGS AND HORSES. >> IS THE HONOR. >> THE KEY IS HAVING AN ANIMAL ABLE TO GO FROM THE BOAT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE DOCKING ALERT FROM THE BOAT. >> BUT THEY CAN’T FIND IT ON THE BOTTOM. AND WHEN YOU GET INTO COLD CASE WORK, YOU KNOW, THE BONES AND THERE AND THE EVIDENCE ALL SUNK DOWN ON THEM AND THAT MUCK IS MURKY. BUT SPLASH USES HIS SENSE OF SMELL TO FIND EXACTLY WHAT HE’S LOOKING FOR. THAT ON THE FRONT OF HIS. >> IS LIKE A SONAR SYSTEM AND HE’S USING WHAT WE CALL RESIDENTS FREQUENCY TO FIND IT. HE KNOWS. >> WHAT THE WHAT THE. BUT THE RESIDENT VIBRATION FREQUENCY IS FOR HUMAN BONE AND HE’S HONED IN ON THAT ONE SEES FOUND BINNEY’S AFTER SPLASH USES BUBBLES TO LET HADSELL KNOWING THAT HE ACTUALLY TASTE THE OLDER. DOESN’T KNOW. >> PARTICULARLY WITH THE HONORS OF WORKED ON COLD CASES BEFORE. BUT SPLASH IS THE FIRST TO WORK ON RECENT RECOVERIES. HE’S THERE ARE MORE RECENT DROWNINGS AND STUFF AS WELL AS THE COLD CASE TO. AT THE END OF THE DAY, SPLASH ISN’T JUST A WORKER. HE’S PART OF THE FAMILY BECOMES ANY AT NIGHT. COMES IN AROUND 9 O’CLOCK AND THEN HE SLEEPS. >> IT’S UP AT 5 WHEN I GET UP. AND >> OUTBACK. AND IT ALL STARTS OVER AGAIN. REPORTING IN NORT
Advertisement
Meet Splash, the 2-year-old Florida otter helping find missing people and cold case evidence
Splash, a 2-year-old Asian small-clawed otter, is search-and-rescue certified and has already participated in more than 30 missions, with eight recoveries to his name. “He’s very competitive. He likes to compete against the dogs,” said Michael Hadsell, Splash’s owner and a member of the southwest Florida-based Peace River K-9 Search and Rescue Team. Splash’s role is crucial in finding missing people, especially in challenging environments.“The only critter that is mobile that we can transport and use in different locations, that kind of trains up like the other animals do, like the dogs and the horses, is the otter,” Hadsell said. Unlike dogs, Splash can go from the boat to the bottom of the water, making him invaluable for cold case work.“The dog can alert from the boat, but they can’t find it on the bottom. And when you get into cold case work, the bones and the evidence are all sunk down in the muck,” Hadsell said. Splash uses his sense of smell and whiskers, which function like a sonar system, to locate what he’s searching for.“We found out that that whisker array on the front of his is like a sonar system, and he’s using what we call resonance frequency to find it. He knows what the resonant vibration frequency is for a human bone, and he’s honed in on that,” Hadsell said. Once Splash identifies the target, he uses bubbles to signal Hadsell.“He actually tastes the odor. He doesn’t smell it, particularly with the nose,” Hadsell said. While otters have worked on cold cases before, Splash is the first to assist with recent recoveries.“He’s doing more recent drownings and stuff as well as the cold case stuff,” Hadsell said. Despite his impressive work, Splash is more than just a search-and-rescue animal. He’s also a beloved member of Hadsell’s family. “He comes and sleeps at me at night, comes in around 9, and then he sleeps, gets up at five when I get up, and then, out back, and it all starts over again,” Hadsell said.
Splash, a 2-year-old Asian small-clawed otter, is search-and-rescue certified and has already participated in more than 30 missions, with eight recoveries to his name.
“He’s very competitive. He likes to compete against the dogs,” said Michael Hadsell, Splash’s owner and a member of the southwest Florida-based Peace River K-9 Search and Rescue Team.
Advertisement
Splash’s role is crucial in finding missing people, especially in challenging environments.
“The only critter that is mobile that we can transport and use in different locations, that kind of trains up like the other animals do, like the dogs and the horses, is the otter,” Hadsell said.
Unlike dogs, Splash can go from the boat to the bottom of the water, making him invaluable for cold case work.
“The dog can alert from the boat, but they can’t find it on the bottom. And when you get into cold case work, the bones and the evidence are all sunk down in the muck,” Hadsell said.
Splash uses his sense of smell and whiskers, which function like a sonar system, to locate what he’s searching for.
“We found out that that whisker array on the front of his is like a sonar system, and he’s using what we call resonance frequency to find it. He knows what the resonant vibration frequency is for a human bone, and he’s honed in on that,” Hadsell said.
Once Splash identifies the target, he uses bubbles to signal Hadsell.
“He actually tastes the odor. He doesn’t smell it, particularly with the nose,” Hadsell said.
While otters have worked on cold cases before, Splash is the first to assist with recent recoveries.
“He’s doing more recent drownings and stuff as well as the cold case stuff,” Hadsell said.
Despite his impressive work, Splash is more than just a search-and-rescue animal. He’s also a beloved member of Hadsell’s family.
“He comes and sleeps at me at night, comes in around 9, and then he sleeps, gets up at five when I get up, and then, out back, and it all starts over again,” Hadsell said.
