look for dogs that go bonkers over a favorite toy, such as a tennis ball. Those dogs will give any job a Herculean effort as long as the reward is playtime when they’re done.

For SAR dogs, a mission may just be a big game of hide-and-seek. But people could die if the dogs don’t find them. That’s why SAR dogs are so important. No machine—not even a robot or a motion detector—can match the performance of a canine detective.

A German shepherd rescue dog searches through the rubble of a building after an earthquake.

A beagle working for the Beagle Brigade in Miami, Florida