Peace River K9 Search and Rescue is a non-profit corporation located in Englewood, Florida, dedicated to providing a professional highly trained search and rescue team for the rapid, effective, and safe return of lost or missing persons. PRSR uses every tool available to them to find people including but not limited to human searchers, tracking dogs, boats, jet skis, helicopters, remote control airplanes, and drones.
Since 2016, Michael Hadsell has worked as a forensic diver for PRSR. When not on a rescue mission, Michael trains dogs how to sniff out humans. Michael and the other K-9 searchers know that the major drawback for searches with dogs is that they lose the scent trail at the water’s edge. From there, search and rescue divers don scuba equipment and continue the underwater search by sight and, in murky water, by feel. Then, Michael began training a four-month-old pup named Splash. As the name implies, Splash loves the water. He seems to feel most comfortable when in the water. Unlike the other dogs used by the PRSR, Splash’s unique senses allow him to, as Michael described it, “‘taste’ the bubbles in the water for a human scent.” Splash spent about three months on scent training following months of conditioning and other training such as deployments from land and boat, and with Michael in the water and with Michael remaining on land.
When Michael and his team begin a search, they use their K-9 dogs to track a scent to the water’s edge. Once a dog alerts on a spot, Michael unleashes Splash at that location. Splash swims around, blows bubbles, and then tastes the bubbles. He continues this bubble tasting routine always in search of a stronger scent which can lead him to the source, usually the remains of a missing person. Once he finds the source, he alerts by making a squeaking sound. Then, he leads divers to the location. As of February of 2026, Splash has been deployed on 27 missions nationwide and has had six confirmed finds. Now two years old, Splash has grown from a pup to an adult dog, but he is different than the dogs you and I keep as pets. This dog named Splash is a full grown Asian small-clawed otter.
Sources:
1. “Explore Peace River,” Florida State Parks, accessed April 19, 2026, https://www.floridastateparks.
2. “Peace River Search and Rescue, Inc.” prsar.org, accessed April 19, 2026, https://www.prsar.org/.
3. “Otter trained in water search rescue has 6 confirmed finds,” WQAD News 8, February 8, 2026, accessed April 19, 2026, https://youtu.be/g8VwkMTmpV8?
4. Caroline Fanning, “Where Dogs Can’t Sniff, This Otter Dives In,” Reader’s Digest, February/March 2026, p.12.
