11-month-old Elvis welcomed as new Phoenix Fire search dog

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - An 11-month-old search puppy is now in the hands of his forever owner: a Phoenix fire captain.

The dogs help search areas that have been destroyed like in a house fire or a natural disaster. Their goal is to find people alive in the rubble.

The fire captain went to look through many dogs before picking the one he returned with Saturday.

Elvis was fresh off the plane from the east coast.

"Absolutely perfect. Laid down, slept the entire way. But he didn't like the landing," said Dana Medlin, Phoenix Fire Captain and TF1 Search Dog Handler.

The search puppy will now live in Phoenix and will soon be FEMA certified.

"This guy is 11 months old and he's doing things I've never seen dogs even close to his age even come close to doing," Medlin said.

He was brought back with Medlin from the University of Pennsylvania where he was undergoing training.

"He's been in training since he was a puppy. We met the foster parents, learned a lot about the dog," Medlin said.

Once certified, Elvis will help search for living people.

"With their nose, they can do way more stuff than we can do. Their nose is incredible. They can clear a rubble pile in a matter of seconds where it would take us hours," Medlin said.

But first, he will get acquainted with his new family.

"He gets to live with me and my family, go to the fire station with me. He's an incredible dog. What he can do already from their training, and add in our training, it's going to be incredible," Medlin said.

Elvis was named after the dog who helped search through rubble at the World Trade Center.

The bar is set high, but we think he'll do just fine.