MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The Michigan Search and Rescue organization held a training session for multiple dogs and their handlers this Friday at Central Park South in Meridian Township.

MSAR members say they enjoy training sessions in Meridian Township because of the number of parks, the diverse terrain, and amount of land.

The volunteer organization provides 24/7 canine response team services free of charge to primarily find missing persons within the Michigan and Great Lakes Region.

The dogs at this Friday’s training session included a trailing dog and multiple air scent and wilderness dogs.

Xenia, a young bloodhound was in attendance and is a certified trailing specialist. She will be kept on a leash and taken to the area where the missing person was last seen. She will then be given an article of the missing person’s clothing. When commanded to, “go find” Xenia will circle around her handler until she matches the clothing scent to the trail of that same person.

Air scent and wilderness dogs are off-leash and look for any human scent whether alive or deceased. When they locate the scent they return to alert their handler who is following, in order to lead them back to what they found.

It can take anywhere from one to two years to certify a search and rescue dog depending on their age and when they started. Once they are certified they could be asked to assist law enforcement in searches according to the organization’s website, www.michigansar.org