Rescue dogs helping to find survivors in wartime Ukraine

With their hometown of Odesa getting regularly hammered by Russian strikes, dog trainers Vitalii and Halyna Cherlat have decided to turn their dog-training skills to search-and-rescue work.

The pair are now looking after 18 dogs, several of which are already being used in rescue operations, with more being prepared for deployment.

They say demand for trained rescue dogs has grown sharply since Russia's full‑scale invasion started in 2022.

Border guards, security workers and local residents seeking search‑and‑rescue dogs often turn to the Cherlats for training. 

However, Vitalii says that dogs which have "been lying on the couch" are hard to train up into rescue animals suitable for demanding wartime missions.

His wife Halyna adds that even experienced rescue dogs fatigue quickly at search scenes, where they are exposed to high levels of tension and adrenaline.

Talking about recent missions that have uncovered both survivors and the dead, Vitalii Cherlat recalls one operation on the outskirts of Odesa as among the hardest, with several bodies recovered from the rubble of a residential building.

Their training teaches dogs to bark when they locate a living person and lie down when they detect a body.

Vitalii and Halyna say the dogs thrive on teamwork even as the work takes a toll on rescuers, who regard each discovery, whether of a survivor or a confirmed fatality, as essential to bringing families answers.

Production: Janis Laizans, Iryna Nazarchuk, Felix Hoske/Reuters