South City rescue dog stays on top of her game

Overcoming obstacles: Search-and-rescue dog Gypsy goes through drills at the South City Fire Department, under the direction of trainer Tom Carney. (Juan Carlos Pometta Betancourt/Special to The Examiner)

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — As the Bay Area anxiously prepares for the next major earthquake or other disaster, a dog named Gypsy stands ready to assist.

The 5-year-old female border collie, stationed at the South City Fire Department, is a certified rescue dog with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, one of only a handful in the state to reach that level of training.

Passing FEMA’s field test was no small task, according to Tom Carney, a code inspector with the Fire Department who has trained Gypsy for the past four years.

The dog was given 15 minutes to search through three mountainous piles of rubble to detect and alert officials if there were any signs of human life (played by volunteers who hid under the debris).

Gypsy also passed two certification tests with the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, a group that prepares dogs for relief efforts.

Keeping Gypsy abreast of the Search Dog Foundation guidelines is a demanding routine, as Carney and his canine assistant must train twice a week under various disaster simulations in Bay Area locations.

“It’s very important to keep the dogs trained, especially here in the Bay Area, which is in an earthquake zone,” said Debra Tosch, executive director of the foundation. “These dogs play a crucial role in saving people’s lives.”

Gypsy’s training has already been put to use in relief efforts in Georgia and Alabama following Hurricanes Ernesto and Ike, respectively, as well as in nearby Daly City, where she searched for survivors after a vacant building collapsed near the Cow Palace in 2006.