Local dog will work to help track down answers and bring closure to families

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WTVG) - Dogs are a critical part of so much in our world. Everything from companionship, to alerting us about medical conditions. Their keen sense of smell is also an impressive tool for tracking people who are lost, as well as finding the remains of those who have died.

The Springfield Township Fire Department has a new Human Remains Detection dog, also known as a cadaver dog. His name is Mando. He’s an 18-month-old Labrador retriever. While he looks and acts like any other energetic young dog, he has an important job: He helps track down answers and bring people closure.

Mando is now officially certified to begin that important work. His training started as a young pup. Shelbie Flegal is his handler.

“Basically, it’s that they put their nose to the odor, you mark it with a ‘yes’ and give them a cookie. For pups, it’s that simple. We then progress to training in places they are familiar with and eventually we take them to unfamiliar places. We start at the age of eight weeks with odor recognition so they know what they are looking for. We train five to 10 hours a week, or more, every week,” said Flegal.

Flegal is also a firefighter and paramedic for the Springfield Township Fire Department. She’s the mother of three young children and a small business owner. And she’s loved animals since she was a little girl.

“It is an amazing responsibility to be able to take something you love so much and help bring closure to these families that desperately need it and might not have have it without these dogs,” said Flegal.

Flegal has been a handler for about a decade. She trains the dogs and they live with her family. Her first cadaver dog is, Darwin, and he is still going strong on the job at the age of 10.

“When I started doing this, our area was a resource desert. We had to call dogs in from two to three hours away. I saw a need and was lucky to train under some wonderful people and I was able to help bring this resource to the area,” said Flegal.

Mando will work alongside Darwin in the beginning.

“Mando passed his certification with flying colors and now he is operational, but he will have the opportunity to work under Darwin, which is exciting. I can have my experienced dog with a lot of knowledge out working and Mando can learn from the best boy,” said Flegal.

The dogs are trained to find everything from a body to tiny bone fragments. Flegal says they can even distinguish between animal and human remains.

“They are specifically trained to detect the odor of human decomposition whether that be old bones or someone who has drowned or died in a fire, all the way down to tiny fragments of bone,” said Flegal.

Difficult, but rewarding work filled with moments marked by many emotions.

“It is an indescribable feeling. I am so proud of my dog in that moment, but you are grieving for the families, so it’s one of those happy/sad moments. But I am definitely a proud mama.”

Human remains are used for the training. Flegal says the remains she uses come from people who choose to donate their bodies to science at Wright State in Dayton.

The focus of Flegal’s work is here in northwest Ohio, but she has traveled to other states to help with searches.

On a side note -- what’s in a name? Flegal says her three young children are in a Star Wars phase right now, so Mando is short for Mandalorian. She also kids that when he’s behaving she calls him Mando and when he’s being mischievous, it’s Mandalorian.

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