Strathmore native provides search and rescue in Haiti

Melissa Strle
Times Reporter

 

Strathmore native Kari Fulton, along with members of the Canadian Search and Disaster Dogs Association (CASDDA), arrived back in Canada on Oct. 26 after providing search and rescue services in Haiti after the devastating hurricane rocked the region on Oct. 4.
Fulton served as a support person to team leader Silvie Montier of Edmonton and her Belgian Malinois named Cken, and Teresa Thorpe of Lloydminster and her yellow Labrador Retriever, Belle.
The team was assigned to find 52 missing people after first arriving in Jérémie, Haiti.
“Our main job was to search for missing people,” said Fulton. “Unfortunately, most of the areas with the missing people were not accessible due to continuous rains.”
The team ended up helping out in whatever way possible. It distributed food and conducted wound care as well. It also continued searching for people whenever it had the chance.
“We were there to help; if the dogs can’t work the whole time, we just stayed busy doing anything else anybody needed,” said Fulton.
Fulton said the dogs worked very hard on the Haiti mission.
“It’s a lot of time but it’s worth it,” she said.
This was Fulton’s first international mission; she has been with CASDDA for almost three years. However, she’s been on quite a few local and national missions.
She described the trip as “an incredible experience,” but also recognized that it was “devastating,” since people were starving and homes were destroyed.
She described people living in caves just to stay out of the rain and the construction of lean-tos to also help citizens stay out of the rain.
“The place was devastated, absolutely devastated,” said Fulton.
The hurricane hit on the west side of Haiti where all the significant agricultural area is, so many farmers lost crops.
Aid has been coming in and Fulton said the country is doing fine right now with the aid pouring in. However, she cautioned that once the aid stops, “I’m not sure what they’re going to do. It’s unbelievably sad.”
Fulton said that normally aid remains for a few months; however, it’s hard to tell how long the aid will be there and it depends on the country.
Fulton’s first search and rescue was looking for a missing firefighter in Breton, Alta., and she has been on three to four water searches as well.
She likes to be able to help give closure to families who have lost their loved ones.
Fulton currently lives in Edmonton and trains approximately 16 hours a week with her male Standard Poodle, Recce. She will stay in Edmonton until Recce is old enough to become internationally certified at a year-and-a-half. She then plans on moving back to Strathmore.
Fulton said she got involved with canine search and rescue because she needed something more in her life.
“I’ve always loved dogs, I’ve always worked with the dogs and I wanted to get into something with the dogs, but agility and that kind of thing was getting boring, so I needed something more,” she said.
CASDDA is based in Edmonton, with teams or subdivisions in Cochrane, Lloydminster and Grande Prairie. Everyone gets together at seminars a minimum of twice a year.
Fulton is very passionate about what she does and describes it as “a way of life.”