For Alvernia occupational therapy professor Greg Chown, man鈥檚 best friend is his vital link to helping families find missing loved ones 鈥 and closure.

Tasked with finding and recovering missing persons, search and rescue volunteers live on the edge of hope and heartbreak. Assistant professor of occupational therapy Gregory Chown makes up half of a K-9 team that participates in search and rescue operations in Berks County and beyond.

Chown鈥檚 other half is his chocolate lab Krabi, certified in human remains detection (HRD).

As a 鈥渃adaver dog,鈥 10-year-old Krabi is trained to scent and locate human remains, tissue, blood and bone in various states of decomposition. Searching on land and water, at crime scenes or disaster sites, K-9 teams like Chown and Krabi do the vital work of locating the missing and facilitating justice.

鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 about helping others during difficult times,鈥 says Chown. 鈥淭hese types of situations are stressful for families and loved ones. Although difficult and dangerous at times, this type of work can offer families a sense of hope, provide answers or offer closure.鈥

Before moving to Reading in 2007, Chown specialized in hand injuries and burns at a hospital in Singapore. There, he adopted Krabi, named for a beautiful area on the west coast of southern Thailand.

After his move here, looking for an activity to share with Krabi, Chown decided on search and rescue. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want just a pet, but a working dog,鈥 he says. 鈥淚鈥檇 always been interested in search and rescue, and thought it would be interesting to do it with a dog.鈥

Chown joined a group in Philadelphia called the Search and Rescue Dogs of Pennsylvania. The training involves solving 鈥減roblems,鈥 or specific search and rescue scenarios.

Sometimes, the teams are given information to work with. But often, the problems are 鈥渂lind,鈥 offering no clues as to how to proceed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 vital to do both types of problems to learn to read your dog and understand what he or she is trying to tell you,鈥 says Chown.

Such expertise requires frequent, rigorous training for both handler and dog. Chown has undergone hundreds of hours of training and is certified in numerous search and rescue skills by the National Association for Search and Rescue, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and local and regional search and rescue operations.

Krabi, in turn, has been certified by the Pennsylvania Police K-9 Association, the American Working Dog Association and Country Class Canines Advanced Land Human Remains Detection.

Chown has attended numerous advanced human remains detection workshops hosted by Bay Area Recovery Canines, an Annapolis, Md., team specializing in the recovery of missing persons and evidence searches. As a volunteer, Chown pays for all training and works with Krabi weekly to keep their skills sharp.

Dogs trained in HRD know to bark and sit or lie down on the spot where they鈥檝e scented remains, which can be undetectable at first glance, says Chown. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 confused, I ask Krabi, 鈥榃here is it?鈥 and she鈥檒l tap her paw on the area,鈥 he says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 saying, 鈥業t鈥檚 here 鈥 just look a little closer.鈥欌

In 2010, he and Krabi joined the K-9 Team at Middle Creek Search and Rescue in Ephrata, where they volunteer today. They work four to six cases a year. Some are searches, where a missing person is assumed alive. Sadly, others are recovery operations.

Chown can鈥檛 comment on most cases they鈥檝e worked 鈥 some are cold cases, while others are wending their way through the courts. However, there are a few he can talk about.

In August 2015, he and Krabi traveled to Schuylkill Haven. In a discovery that made international news, a road crew had found human bones 鈥 thought to be part of a mass grave dug during the 1918 influenza pandemic 鈥 along a stretch of Route 61.

When they were invited to the site to train, Chown accepted 鈥 鈥測ou just don鈥檛 get cases like this,鈥 he says. As Krabi laid on spots where she鈥檇 scented bones, Chown marked them with flags. Ultimately, exposed bones were cleared, and those beneath the surface were left undisturbed.

In September 2011, they searched for a flood victim. 鈥淢y first big case,鈥 says Chown. 鈥淲hile I was ready for it, I was shocked by the magnitude of the search area and the power of what the water could do. The search area was still dangerous 鈥 a lot of debris, and water that was still high and moving rapidly. It was hard going, and I was concerned about Krabi鈥檚 safety.

鈥淎t one point, she jumped in the river to swim out a bit and started to get swept away. I managed to jump in the water and snag her before that happened.鈥

Ultimately, Krabi picked up the man鈥檚 scent. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 see him 鈥 he was submerged,鈥 says Chown. 鈥淏ut she kept telling me, 鈥楬e鈥檚 here.鈥欌 When the waters receded the next day, the man was recovered in that area.

Chown plans to retire Krabi in the next 18 months. His next dog will already be trained in HRD, and the new team will bring the same level of commitment, training and dedication to their work.

鈥淚鈥檓 on call 24/7. You have to be willing to pack up your gear and your dog on a moment鈥檚 notice to go to a search site. That call could come during the day or in the middle of the night,鈥 says Chown.

But there鈥檚 no hesitation; both handler and dog have the drive for the work. Chown鈥檚 gear 鈥 which includes a communications radio and GPS system, compass and flashlight, first-aid kit and rope, as well as food and water for himself and Krabi 鈥 is always packed and ready to go.

鈥淲hen Krabi sees me pack the car, and her cage comes out, she gets excited,鈥 says Chown. 鈥淪he knows we鈥檙e going to work.鈥

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