The above photo is from the third annual Water Workout Weekend. It was presented earlier this month by New Jersey Search and Rescue, which is headquartered in Mahwah at Ramapo Reservation.

It is a weekend of water based training for search and rescue dogs and their handlers. It was held at Monksville Resevior in Ringwood and was attended by about 75 people that included 35 search dogs.

There were participants from as far away as New Mexico, Arizona and Canada as well as nearby teams. Dogs worked on skills that would allow them to find drowned victims in the water, no matter if the victim were submerged or on the surface.

They got to work from many different styles of boats. There were many agencies present to help out: Bergen County Police Dive Team, Ringwood Dive Team, West Milford Search and Rescue. But, by far one of the biggest attractions was Mahwah's Company One Water Rescue Team with their Airboat!

It was a great boat for the dogs to train on and proved a valuable learning experience. Many thanks go out to all the people that helped make this a huge success. 

The above was submitted by NJ Search & Rescue and Mahwah Company 1 Ambulance volunteer Ken Koehler. Got a photo and story to submit? Email it to jessica.mazzola@patch.com.