Joe the search dog, a yellow Labrador retriever, is an alumnus of the Longmont Humane Society and is on his way to Chile to help with search and rescue after the earthquake. He boarded a military transport plane headed to Chile at March Air Force Base in California with his handler, Linda Tacconelli.

Joe is part of “California Task Force 2″ from the Ojai, Calif.-based National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, one of just two American search-dog teams permitted to deploy to international disasters.

Joe’s talent was was “discovered” in December 2007 by LHS training and behavior coordinator Sarah Clusman. In July 2008, Joe graduated from initial training and was teamed with Tacconelli, a handler from Santa Barbara. In September the team passed the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s certification test.

Read more about Joe in a story from the Daily Camera, “Longmont Humane Society grad flies to Chile for search and rescue.” And you can follow the work of the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation on Facebook.