Local search dog teams travel to Wyoming
Terri Kent of Iola and Penny Leder of Bear Creek, members of Wolf River K9 Search and Rescue, traveled 2,900 miles round trip to Cody, Wyo. along with their search dogs, K9 Jaela and K9 India, for a National Search Dog Alliance (NSDA) training seminar June 16-20.
The trip was made possible by a grant from AKC Companion Animal Recovery and money raised through work with the Greenville Lioness Club.
The NSDA seminar involved training in large area wilderness searches, and human remains detection (HRD). While at the seminar, K9 Jaela and Terri achieved certification in the discipline of Area Search. The certification evaluation consisted of finding two subjects on 130 acres within three hours. At 7,600 feet of elevation, evaluation day, June 17, presented 40 mph straight-line winds with a windchill of 24 degrees. Jaela found her first subject 1 hour, 30 minutes into the search and her second subject at 2 hours, 44 minutes.
"Trying to prepare for the certification test was difficult in a 130-acre mountain setting with grizzly bears around-you don't have that around here," said Kent, who is President of the five-member Wolf River K9 Search and Rescue team. "The day turned out to be pretty awful, but the most rewarding part was finding the last subject with 16 minutes to spare. It was a really tough test.
"It was a neat experience," Kent continued. "We got to learn some different views from other trainers, and it was just an exciting trip."
"The most challenging part of the trip was the evaluation," agreed Leder. "Because of the elevation and weather conditions, along with the larger search area and extended search time, it was a challenge for us. Out west, they search larger areas than we are used to searching, so each dog and handler had to cover a large area.
"It was really nice to get together with handlers from all over the country," Leder added. "We learned a lot about how they train their dogs in other areas, and it was extraordinarily interesting."
Upon returning home, Wolf River K9 Search and Rescue team was paged to help locate a missing eight-year-old boy in Reedsburg Wisconsin. Terri and Penny, along with their search dogs, Jaela and India responded to the July 1 call. Unfortunately divers located the body of the missing boy in a quarry pond about a mile from his home the following day.
Though the end of some search and rescue stories ends in tragedy, Leder and Kent said handlers are driven by a desire to help people and an optimism that is undying.
"I started out with a dog that I trained to track wounded deer, which is legal in Wisconsin if the dog is on a leash," Kent explained. "It was very rewarding doing that, and I thought it would be neat to train another dog to search for lost persons. I've always loved working with dogs, so I started researching different breeds, and just went from there. It's very rewarding to help people."
"When I first got interested in K9 Search and Rescue, I was looking for ways to continue to volunteer in the community," Leder commented. "My kids had grown up and graduated, and I was looking for a different venue to help out. I had always owned and trained dogs, and I thought there was something I could do with them in order to help people. I joined the Wolf River K9 Search and Rescue team in 2004. It is interesting work, and I enjoy working outdoors. It's an added benefit to be able to assist when there is an emergency by coming in and helping people in need."
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1 Comment for "Local search dog teams travel to Wyoming"
Karevoni Oct 14, 2010 4:30 PM