They're dogs on a mission. One local woman is on a mission too, she has created a search and rescue dog team in our area. It's a fairly new organization called the ATT Search Dogs of Virginia.

Their goal -- using K-9's to find missing people.

Joanne Kuchinski - "Are you ready?"

Believe it or not, Ginger is just a puppy, but she's definitely ready to run.

Kuchinski - "She's gonna come back and tell me she found him.

And that's exactly what Ginger does.

Kuchinski - "You give them a scent, and they basically play what we call the matching game.  Ok, this is the smell I want you to find, go find the person who smells like this."

For dogs, it's just a game. But for humans, this game could save a life. That's why people from all over are coming together to train these smart dogs.

Kuchinski - "The nearest dog team is at least 3 or 4 hours away either in Richmond or Tidewater and there's no dogs in this area other than police dogs."

And when a loved one goes missing, every second counts.

Kuchinski - "Say we have a three year old that goes missing and we need a dog you had to wait four hours before a dog can come in. And a lot can happen to say a 3 year old or an elderly person in 4 hours time."

Organizers don't want that kind of situation to come up. So they're training hard, in hopes that they'll soon be state certified.

Mark Smoot - "I would want to know, are they okay have they been found some sort of closure some sort of peace of mind. Are they still out there? And to me there's no better way than if you've got the right kind of dog and the right kind of handlers."

And while it takes a lot of volunteer time, it's worth the effort.

Smoot - "Personal satisfaction of being able to tell somebody, we've found your loved one."

The rescue team has members from Danville, Halifax, Roanoke and Pittsylvania and Franklin Counties. They're always looking for more helpers. Click here if you're interested, or click here to email them.

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