Dogs to take over abandoned Tacoma school Sunday. Here’s what they’ll be training for

Allison Needles
·2 min read

Fawcett Elementary School in Tacoma hasn’t been used by students for months, but on Sunday it will once again become a place for learning.

This time, the students are canines.

Northwest Disaster Search Dogs (NDSD), a nonprofit group that trains canines for urban search and rescue, is using Fawcett Elementary as a training site before the school is demolished in March.

Students and staff moved out of Fawcett Elementary at the start of the school year and are currently sharing a site with McKinley Elementary. Tacoma Public Schools is building a new Fawcett Elementary on the site, funded through a bond passed by voters in 2020.

In the meantime, the empty school on McKinley Avenue has still been of benefit to the community.

NDSD used the school last week for search training, and the Tacoma Fire Department has conducted fire and rescue training in the building.

NDSD formed in 1992 to assist with search and rescue of people trapped due to man-made or natural disasters. The all-volunteer group performs searches only at the direction of emergency or law enforcement service agencies and works with the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management.

Over the years, NDSD crews have been deployed to various disasters, including on Sept. 11, 2001 when the World Trade Center collapsed, and for the 2014 mudslide in Oso, Washington. NDSD also has deployed to aid in collapsed structures, building searches, house fires and water searches locally.

On Sunday, about six dogs and their handlers will be training to find people within Fawcett, said Jo Huxel, a trainer with NDSD. She’s been training for 12 years and works with three German shorthaired pointers: Cassia, Bax and Rumo.

German shorthaired pointer Cassia is a nationally certified disaster search dog. Her handler is Jo Huxel. Northwest Disaster Search Dogs (NDSD), a nonprofit group that trains canines for urban search and rescue, is using Fawcett Elementary as a training site before the school is demolished later in March. 
German shorthaired pointer Cassia is a nationally certified disaster search dog. Her handler is Jo Huxel. Northwest Disaster Search Dogs (NDSD), a nonprofit group that trains canines for urban search and rescue, is using Fawcett Elementary as a training site before the school is demolished later in March.

Huxel said they try to conduct training in real buildings whenever they get the chance. While the Fawcett building is still standing — not yet a pile of rubble — the building provides good places for some hide and seek. Trainers can also have dogs practice moving through breached walls made by the fire department.

“There are a lot of distractions in that building — there are a lot of smells and a lot of stuff still in it,” Huxel said.

Huxel said the NDSD hopes to be able to use Fawcett again before it’s demolished in a few months.

“It’s a really important training tool for our dogs to be able to get into these real buildings,” she said.