LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Meet Joey, a life-saving Labrador Retriever with the Los Angeles County Fireplace Division who performs search and rescue.
Joey could get pleasure from chasing a ball and snuggling with household, however the 2-year-old pooch can be a licensed search-and-rescue Ok-9 credited with discovering three individuals alive after a lethal earthquake.
Joey is a member of the Los Angeles County Fireplace Division City Search and Rescue Activity Drive, often known as USA-2. Now, he is a semifinalist within the American Humane Society’s Sixteenth annual Hero Canine Awards.
Video from Venezuela reveals the canines and members of the Los Angeles County’s USA-2 crew being honored with medals for his or her work in looking for survivors.
“When he isn’t working, he likes to play together with his ball. We often play about 20 minutes day-after-day on the park. He likes to snuggle with the household,” Los Angeles County Fireplace Capt. Louis Gudiel mentioned.
Joey and Gudiel skilled collectively for greater than 5 months earlier than turning into licensed.
“We skilled for over 5 months to get him licensed, and Joey and I had been licensed in September of 2025, and we had been mission-ready to deploy wherever on the planet,” Gudiel mentioned.
That decision got here in June, when Joey and Gudiel deployed to Venezuela following a lethal earthquake. They arrived three days after the catastrophe, and Joey discovered three survivors buried within the rubble.
RELATED: LA County search-and-rescue crew is welcomed house after 11 days in Venezuela
Seventy-one members and 6 Ok-9 groups are again house after spending 11 days in Venezuela, sifting by way of particles and looking for survivors.
“It feels good to place in all that work, all that coaching, and be capable to deploy and make a distinction. So once we get these stay alerts, it isn’t solely good as a Ok-9 crew, but it surely’s additionally for our division and our nation,” Gudiel mentioned.
When Joey just isn’t looking for individuals in catastrophe zones, he gives consolation to first responders at his station.
“I’ve by no means been at a station with a canine earlier than, so having Joey right here is admittedly cool. He is right here for us, he helps us, and it is cool simply saying you will have a world hero working at your station,” Los Angeles County firefighter Matthew Vela mentioned.
Joey is competing as a regulation enforcement and first responder canine semifinalist within the Sixteenth-annual Hero Canine Awards.
Individuals can vote for Joey as soon as each 24 hours by way of Sept. 18 on the American Humane Society web site.
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