Roma spent the first two years of her life in a shelter in Pasadena, California, waiting for someone to choose her. The black lab was overlooked by potential adopters time and time again, and no one could understand why. Finally, one of the shelter employees
who saw something special in Roma had an idea.
The shelter employee had a feeling Roma would make a perfect search and rescue dog and contacted the Search Dog Foundation. The energetic pup sailed through her training and was soon matched with her handler, Derek Moree. The pair began serving on an international search-and-rescue team and quickly became inseparable.
Now 6 years old, Roma serves as a live find canine and is deployed during the worst crises. She’s trained to find people who are missing beneath building wreckage, so when she is called upon, it’s an extremely urgent situation.
“A dog’s abilities to determine if someone is buried in rubble is critical, as it allows search and rescue teams to dedicate time and resources to the right areas,” Moree said in a press release.
Roma and Moree were recently deployed to Venezuela in the aftermath of severe earthquakes. The destruction was devastating, the circumstances impossible. Even though hope seemed lost, Roma and her canine teammates were brought to a collapsed apartment building, and together they helped locate over a dozen people trapped in the rubble.
Without Roma, those people trapped beneath the rubble never would have made it out. She is a true hero, all because a shelter employee saw something special in her.
Today, Roma is being honored as a part of Remember Me Thursday (RMT), which happens annually on the fourth Thursday of September and honors all of the shelter pets still waiting to find homes. She’s receiving the Pet Hero Award at Helen Woodward Animal Center’s annual ceremony, an accolade that is well-deserved.
Not only will Roma receive a plaque, she’ll also get a year's supply of Blue Buffalo dog food, which Moree has chosen to donate to a local rescue organization.
Roma went from an unwanted shelter dog to a true hero. She loves every moment of her life as a search and rescue dog, and she's finally getting the recognition she deserves.
