Cadaver water dogs can search open or moving water by being deployed on a boat or by completing a bank search. Specialist Search Dogs will deploy fully equipped and qualified teams, including boats, in order to fulfill any water search.
What is it? Cadaver water search uses a dog’s scent of smell to identify the smell of human remains on or under water.
Cadaver water dogs can search open, still, and moving water from a boat or by completing a bank search. Specialist Search Dogs deploy fully equipped, qualified teams, including boats and specialist water-search equipment.
Our water operations use a bespoke Modular Submerge Search system, integrating HRD water dogs with technology such as AquaEye, side-scan sonar, and underwater drone capability. This structured approach helps to prioritise search areas quickly and supports focused verification where required.
In most deployments, the dog works from a purpose-built platform on one of our boats. When scent is detected, the dog indicates to the handler and typically shows the strongest response closest to the source. Wind, current, and water conditions can affect scent movement, and our modular system is designed to account for these variables.
Cadaver water dogs may be used when a victim is believed to have drowned, entered the water in a vehicle, or been deposited and submerged. Dogs are assessed in both boat and bank search to ensure operational capability across different water environments.
