BOZEMAN, Mont. — Bozeman Health is supporting Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue’s canine program with surgical tissue donations to be used for training.
In 2021, Montana passed House Bill 641, which allows Search and Rescue to obtain donated human tissue for canine rescue training purposes.
Bozeman Health will donate tissue from patients to help train canines in human detection. The tissue will be used to teach dogs how to search for different people and determine if the scent is from someone dead or alive.
Bozeman Health has donated tissue from three different patients to support Search and Rescue canine training so far.
Bozeman Health released the following:
Bozeman Health Supports Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue Canine Program Surgical tissue donations allow for more advanced canine rescue training
Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue (SAR) is a key community partner for Bozeman Health’s trauma system. SAR is the first on the scene for backcountry recreationists requiring medical assistance. They perform the initial trauma
assessment and then assist in transporting patients to Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center or Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical Center emergency departments for care.
In 2021, Montana legislation passed House Bill 641, allowing SAR to obtain donated human tissue for canine rescue training purposes. Human detection is a must-have skill for search and rescue dogs. The dogs are trained to follow given scents along the ground, to sniff out human scents in the air and to know the difference between the smell of a live person and one who is deceased.
To train the dogs in these various odors, SAR needs access to materials with the right smell, so that the dogs learn to search for different people.
“SAR approached Bozeman Health to see if there would be an opportunity to find patients having tissue removed surgically who would be open to donating,” shares SAR Captain Matt Boxmeyer. A multi-disciplinary Bozeman Health team worked to develop a system that legally and ethically allows patients to donate their no-longer-needed surgical tissue for this purpose. To date,
Bozeman Health has successfully donated tissue from three different patients to support the SAR canine training.
“We live in a community with a lot of backcountry recreation and being able to support a SAR program, like the canine training team, will help improve care access for anyone who needs help,” says Allison Hugus, Bozeman Health trauma services coordinator.