Session 11: The Pre-SAR Evaluation

  

It was a repeat location for me, so for once easy to find.  Bright and sunny day, if a bit chilly. Obedience was first, with a healing pattern where we each weave in and out of the others. It’s a good exercise in keeping your dog’s attention, since normally they would want to sniff (or bite) the other dogs. A couple of the other dogs have issues with this, but Cino is fine at it. Then we did stays, I chose to go out of sight, which I felt quite comfortable doing, even though it is outside and off-leash. 



Down-stay

Again, Cino was fine – unlike in the next exercise, which was the drop on recall. I was thinking that he was doing really well, but then, it is different when he gets to run. So I remove his leash and tell him to stay, and start to walk away.  The first part of the exercise is fine: I call him then tell him to down. Then I call him again. At this point various other people have done the recall and are playing with their dogs around the area. Cino sees one pair and decides it would be much more fun to run over there, than to me, so off he goes. He has his e-collar on, but I am not confident that he will come back if I use it as he is running away, so I wait for him to be nearer to me, and to be stationary (which eventually happens). I then call him to come and use the collar, and he does. Exercise completed, not very satisfactorily.

 Next up was Cino’s pre-SAR evaluation, which was carried out by Fiona and Isabel. It was divided into two parts, the first was sociability towards people and other dogs. Well, I knew that bit would be fine. He was tied to a post and I went out of sight. First Harry walked past him with a dog he had not seen (smelt?) before, then he went up to him and untied him and brought him back to me. No aggression, but no great enthusiasm either, so he got a 2.75/3 (scores go from 0 to 3).  The second part, called  Motivation and Drive, was divided into three: playing with the dog (motivation) , then prey drive and finally hunt drive. First of all, I had to keep him engaged and play with a familiar toy. Well, Cino is not very into toys, so I worked very hard to keep him looking at me and playing. It actually worked quite well.  I then had an unfamiliar toy, which was a little harder, but still OK. Then he had to play with a stranger with a toy. Basically, he was not interested, but just wanted to come back to me.  The next part of this section was prey drive.  I had to throw a toy ten times, and he was supposed to go after it enthusiastically. Actually, Cino did this pretty well. Even though it was supposed to be a familiar toy, we did it with a “food purse” – Velcro closure with hot dog inside, and each time he brought it back he got to eat some. Even though I thought he did a pretty good job on this, he was only given a 1.5/3.
Finally, his hunt drive was tested.  In this case, the food purse was thrown into brush so he could not see it. This did not go well. He went and searched a bit, but then kept on coming out and back to me. I was sending him in and telling him to “find it”, even though no commands were supposed to be given. Well, he got a 1 out of 3 for this. The next three tests were supposed to be the same, but with time delays, but I guess Fiona and Isabel decided not to bother. I was also scored on Handler/Canine Interaction during the whole process. They only gave me a 1/3, which I thought was a bit stingy!

Anyway, the total is worked out by adding it all together and dividing it by the total number of tests, and the final for Motivation and Drive was a stunningly low 0.61, where if you score between 0 and 0.9 you are an “unpromising candidate”. So, that is us.

At this stage, the Board has to vote as to whether to accept me as a Trainee. Fiona and Isabel were at pains to tell me that they both liked me and my attitude, but my dog was really not up to it. They said the Board would probably decide to reject my application, but if they accepted it, I would be put on probation for a few months, then re-tested. They asked if there was any way I could get another dog. Well, this was supposed to be something for me to do with Cino! And anyway, there’s no way I am getting another dog. I don’t want three dogs, and I don’t want a Malinois, a Shepherd, or a Doberman. I wanted to do this with my poodle, and if it’s not going to work, well, all I can say is I have tried as hard as I can.  They also said that if I was put on probation, to increase Cino’s prey drive I should keep him crated all the time, and only feed him when he has “found” somebody, i.e. Georgie would have to hide in the house and Cino would have to find her to be fed. And he should not get any food if he did not find her. Well, I could just about see myself doing that bit, but not crating him all day. So even if they do offer me probation, I think the best option is for me to let them know I am withdrawing my application.
 Anyway, the rest of the session carried on in the usual way. Off I went into the wilderness with Harry, until he found a nice downed tree with a little space beneath it. This was after we had crossed a stream (yay, my boots are waterproof!) and tramped through a lot of mud. I placed my mat and wriggled my way under the tree with my backpack as a pillow.

My hiding place - with mat, camo cloth and backpack pillow



It was not that uncomfortable, and I took a little snooze.  After about an hour I was found by Isabel and one of her air-scent dogs. The tree meant that it was harder for the dog to jump all over me, but she certainly licked my face pretty comprehensively. When getting out from under the tree a whole load of stuff fell on my face and clothes. Yucky. Then I went back under, for a couple of other dogs to search for me, first Alan and Zed (more slobber), then Harry and Soho.  When I finally fully extricated myself I found out that the stuff that fell on me was fox poop. Apparently foxes like to poop on raised areas, and all members of the family go in the same place, so there was a great selection of varying freshness. On the way home in the car, the heating was on, and I realized that there was a rather unpleasant smell permeating the car, which was coming from me.



session 10: I'm not the newest anymore

The first dog to find me (and slobber all over my face)

A beautiful early winter’s day in the Catoctin Mountains, just North West of Frederick. Sunny, but in the 40’s up on the hills.

The first thing on schedule for me and Cino was the exercise in increasing his “pushiness”.  I gave hotdog and cheese to Bob, Alan and Julie (on her second session, but the first time I had met her) and they spread out and called Cino to them. He happily ran between them all getting food – I don’t feed him on the days I go search and rescue training, so he was very enthusiastic.

Bob was in charge today and he had printed out some detailed maps showing orienteering posts in the area. The task was to find as many of them as possible within a two-hour time period. Almost all of the leaves had fallen, but there were plenty of thorny bushes which made it harder to see anything from a distance. However, it was easier to see where the hills crested, which was not possible when all the trees were in full leaf.  I was partnered with Julie: even though she was a newby she has some map and compass skills from previous orienteering.  She had with her a five month old border collie, Quiver.  I was glad I was with her, because at first I could not remember how to use the compass to get a bearing.  Since the class I took two weeks ago, I had not gone over the notes, nor tried to do any work with maps, so I needed the gentle reminder. Anyway, we worked out that we needed to go west, following the road to our north, and going up about two contour lines, so about 40 ft rise. We found our first marker after about 10 minutes, and then by looking at the distance on the map decided it should take us about another 10 to find the next, which was south of us and near a narrow track. We did not find that one, so decided to find an easier one a little further on, right near a stream, just after the track crossed the stream. That was pretty easy to find and we could then locate ourselves precisely on the map again. After that we headed directly up hill, almost due south. The marker was supposed to be on the  outer edge of a small plateau, but we did not find it. At that point we needed to head back to base, so didn’t linger too long trying to pinpoint the location. The terrain was not that easy to walk on. What you could see were bits of rock jutting up through the leaves, some large jagged boulders, and lots of trees, including many which had fallen. What you couldn’t tell was whether there were rocks/ground under the leaves, or whether the leaf pile was very deep. At some points we sunk in up to our knees in leaves.  After about an hour of walking with my pack on my back I had fully warmed up! Julie is 15-20 years younger than me, I would guess, and in better shape, and even though the terrain was rough, it was a pretty good pace we went at.  Still, I’m glad I was orienteering with a partner, I’m not sure I would have been so successful alone.

By the time we got back to base Harry had arrived.  He said that it was about time that Cino had the K9 evaluation.  This involves things like seeing how he reacts to strange people and dogs when I am out of sight, and seeing what his prey drive is like with toys, both his own favorite ones and unfamiliar ones. Problem was that I did not have any of his toys with me, so the evaluation was postponed 'till the next time. That should also give me a bit of time to look through it, and see if there is anything I can do to encourage the desired behavior. However, this test is more to do with temperament than training, so I’m not sure there’s much I can do.

Next up it was time for me to be the subject. Bob “placed” me, but not because he thought I was likely to go to the wrong place, but because he had a very specific place in mind.  I was to hide beneath a wooden bridge Back at base Harry decided that Cino needed to do some more work, so he, Julie and Alan got handfuls of hotdog and went up a path, each stopping behind a tree just off the path. I held Cino till they were all in place then told him to go find. He went straight to Julie, then headed back towards me, so I told him to go find again. He ran off up the path, right past the tree Alan was behind and up to Harry. I had run to catch up, because the owner is supposed to be at the spot where he gets the treat and praise. We did this again, and this time he found everybody. By then I think his interest had waned so it was time for him to go back in the car.

We finished early, which was good, since the drive was about 75 mins for me, and I was still feeling a bit cold. I had the heat blasting for much of the drive home.  I know it’s going to get much colder, though. Not sure how many more layers I can put on.

My View from under the bridge

 which was part of a walkway for an environmental trail. There was not much space under the bridge, about 18”, but luckily for me it was not wet (although it does cross an ephemeral stream) just rather cold.  I lay out my mat and crawled under. The wind followed me, as it seemed to be funneled through it. Well, I had five layers of clothes on my upper body, but only one on my legs, which were cold. I pulled my hat down low, a rain-jacket hood over that and started to nap.  It was a challenge for all but one of the dogs. First, Bob's dog Yelta was up. She ran over the bridge a couple of times, and clearly could smell something, but it took her some time to get off the path and come around.  

Yelta Searching with partner Bob, and newbie Julie

She was pretty happy when she found me, and I got plenty of licks right on the mouth when she came under the bridge. It was hard to avoid, I was rather jammed in!  Then Harry came along with Soho who seemed thoroughly confused and even though I was eye-level with her a couple of times when she came off the path, she did not find me.  Finally Zed rushed over the path and immediately jumped off and came straight to me, with Alan coming up shortly after. I got another licking, but luckily none of the dogs could actually jump on me since there simply was not enough room.  I was pretty glad to climb out, though.

Session 9: Clandestine Graves

This week, instead of a foray into the wild we attended a lecture, one of the most fascinating I have ever heard. For a start, it was held in the US Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, so there were lots of flags, pictures of people in uniform and officialdom.  The lecturer, Dr. William Rodriguez, (real name) started out as a primatologist in Africa, then moved to working with odors – how animals interpret smells. He also worked on war crimes in Kosovo, Somalia and Iraq, so an impressive resume.

It turns out that odor was first used to diagnose crime in 13^th century China, where flies were used to discover a murder weapon. Even though the weapon had been wiped clean, the flies could still smell the traces of blood.

We were informed that certain animals can cause injuries which look like weapon injuries. For instance, there is a mollusk which makes perfectly round holes in skulls which looks like a gunshot entry wound.  Then there are snapping  turtles which can crush the frontal skull which makes it looks as if the person was bludgeoned to death.  When dogs try to pick up skulls they typically try to pick it up from the back and leave striations which look like knife marks. To carry the skull they have to pick it up from the front which tends to fracture it.

The lecture continued with stories about decomposition. Its predictable sequence leads to visible (to those in the know) bio-environmental evidence.  A dead body disrupts the ecology of the area, as it is a food source for animals and plants.  When a body is buried, it first bloats up. As the body off-gases, the area directly above the grave caves in and the surrounding area cracks somewhat.  Often vegetation nearby will die-off, since roots may have been cut while digging the grave.  When burying a body, it is difficult to avoid mixing the soil around, and under-soil gets dumped on top on the body.   In this case, a bare patch may be a tell-tale sign, since seedlings will not grow so well on soil devoid of nutrients. When soil is dug up it becomes more porous and water accumulates there better than surrounding areas, so the area will be darker.  Also, different types of plants grow, often those with dark green leaves which favor the liquids from decomposing bodies.  This can be very obvious if a body has been buried in a field or agricultural area, and the difference in color can be seen from the air.

Plants and insects can often help determine when the body was buried: when seeds start to grow in disturbed ground, forensic ecologists can tell by looking at the plant how long it has been growing.  Our lecturer said that this, and other, evidence was destroyed by the DC police in the case of Chandra Levy.  He and his team went to the area when they heard a skull had been discovered. The DC police department used leaf-blowers and threw soil down a hill, destroying all of the ecological and biological evidence.  Soon after they released the crime scene and all manner of people, reporters and private investigators, crawled all over the area. One of the private investigators hired by the family found a leg bone, so once again, the police sealed off the area. They never found her hair, but  Dr. Rodriguez said if you know where to look, hair can often be found.

Many little critters like using hair as nesting material, both birds and rodents, and nests are often close to the site, in nearby trees either in the branches, for birds’ nests, or near the base of the tree for rodents. They also find teeth and small bones. In one case there was a wedding ring in a field mouse’s nest. In another amazing case, a yellow warbler had plucked not only hair from the skull of a victim, but had a little piece of paper built into the nest. This piece of paper had a telephone number on it, which turned out to be the phone number of the murderer!

If a skull and a body have been separated, it is possible to tell which way up the face was, by “soil stain” on the bones. One can even tell if the skull has been moved several times.  The bone which is least often recovered is that of the hyoid bone, and this is unfortunate because it is a clear indicator in the case of strangulation.  It is often eaten by buzzards or vultures.  Which brings us to another useful tool in toolbox: poop.  Dr. Rodriguez collects all fecal samples nearby then x-rays them. Quite often there will be not only bone shards, but also bullet shards.

Wild canids (foxes, cayotes) usually eat close to the death site, therefore bones, and the bones in the poop, are nearby. However, domestic dogs will carry bones long distances, so investigators will go to nearby homes with dogs and look in the yard and kennels – not infrequently they have found human skulls in dog-houses.

 When the death occurs in winter, the graves are often extremely shallow, since it is difficult to dig through the frozen ground. The human killers will often mark the area of the burial with pieces of fallen wood, so that they can find it more easily in the spring, when they intend coming back to bury it deeper. Frequently, killers who leave their victims in the woods know the area very well.

Another sign suggesting something is not normal is when the wrong plants are growing in a particular area. What happens is that as a body is dragged from a car at the side of a road to a denser area of undergrowth it picks up seeds on the clothing. These seeds often germinate in spring. Now, roadside plants and trees are different from those found in the woods, and those in the know recognize plants growing in the wrong places.  In one case they found a buried body because tulip poplar seedlings were growing in a pine and oak forest.

When the body has been un-earthed by investigators, a variety of insect and plant s give clues to the season of death. Even if a body is 12-15 years old, season of death can be found by looking at insect bodies in bone crevices.  For instance, if a very thin yellow jacket is found, it is likely that the death occurred in September or October, because that is when the nest breaks up and when they are actively foraging for anything they can get. There is a branch of this science called forensic entomotoxicology where insects are analyzed to see what chemicals they contain. They can identify opiates and antibiotics, which can give useful clues to cause of death.

For very recent victims, time of death is an important detail. Generally fly larvae (maggots) are a good indicator, but not always. In certain areas ants will carry off the maggots and this slows decomposition, so that even though a body may look 24 hours old, it can be 48.  Another factor which alters apparent time of death is the size of the body. Small bodies mummify quite quickly which impairs the insect’s ability to feed.  Scarab beetles are the last to benefit from the death. They feed on vertebrate and invertebrate carrion – so often they are eating the dead insects which have eaten the dead person.

We will finish with odor, which is where this started. That is what the dogs are used for, since their sense of smell is prodigious. There are 24 main components of odor of human decomposition.  Currently a machine is being developed to detect these odors, but it involves a thin probe which has to be put into the ground at small intervals. That is only useful if you know where the body is, so really, it is not useful at all, compared with a dog.  Sometimes a dog indicates an area where there is absolutely no trace of a body, but that is usually because there are some plants which give off exactly the same odors. So, don’t blame the dog!

Session 8: When Nobody Comes to Training

Saturday evening, the time people like to relax, go to movies, go to dinner. What was I doing? Driving up the I-270 on a chilly evening, with 4 layers of clothes on, hat, gloves, two torches (OK, flashlights), spare batteries, water, snacks and Cino.  This time I decided I had everything I needed for lying in the cold and the dark for a few hours.

We were meeting in the parking lot of a defunct Lockheed Martin office building. When I got there, there was not another car in sight. Just a huge parking lot in front of the building. Strobe lights were flashing on the ground floor, and an alarm bell was ringing, but other than that (and the cars streaming north on the 270), it was strangely quiet. I was quite sure I was in the right place, so decided to do a little healing practice with Cino using his electronic collar. I walked towards the woods where there was a "Private, No Trespassing" sign. That did not seem too promising, but maybe we had a permit to go in there. I decided to take a tour of the lonely business park before calling to see if I had somehow got it wrong...

Just then, I saw headlights of a lone car slowly coming towards me. It turned out to be Isabel and her GSD Racer, who I had not trained with before.  Isabel told me that the other members had been called out on a search for a missing man earlier that afternoon, and most were still there. Those who had completed their area searches would not be coming to training, so it was just us two.  Strangely enough, I was disappointed! There was I, all ready to go, with everything I needed, and I did not want to be heading home so soon.

Racer is a tracking dog, rather than an air-scent dog.  Isabel gave me specific directions of where to walk: over the grass, onto the asphalt, hugging the building (lights still flashing), and at some point to hide right against it.  As I was doing that I saw some panes of broken glass, which I skirted, since I did not want Racer to walk over it.  I hid down a stairwell, which was filled with leaves. Nice camo!  It did not take Racer long to find me and I could see him exhibit the classic "neck snap" as he barreled past my location where the scent trail stopped. Down the steps he came, and lay down beside me. He was on a long leash with Isabel panting behind.  I mentioned the glass, and Isabel said it would not have bothered him since they were used to working in New York!  She also said that the Lockheed Martin building had been vacant for years and that the area we were in was also used by the police on training exercises. Apparently they were trying to get authorization to use the inside of the building, too. Maybe they would then find if there was somebody sleeping there who had set off the alarm? I found it a bit strange that so many lights were on in the building: was somebody still paying the electricity bill, and why would it not have been disconnected?

Isabel then did some runaways with Cino in the dark, using lots of treats and encouraging noises. Each time he went straight to her, having to use his nose for the last few meters since she was hiding behind trees, and it was totally dark by then. He did a good job. I think it's time for something a little more difficult, but I'm not sure what the next step is. I guess I'll find out in due course.  She encouraged me to make a "snack sac" out of pencil cases, to buy a cheap light-up collar and a bell from a hunting store: there's always more to buy, whatever activity or sport one does, but I like the idea of making do.

Session 7: Navigation Issues

Forty miles north of Bethesda and the leaves had almost all fallen from the trees, especially up on the hills of Gambrill State Park.  I was late for training because Google maps had given me directions using a road which did not exist. I had to phone Bob, who was in charge of the day's training, otherwise I would never have found the place, so I was already feeling bad about my navigational skills. It was only going to get worse, unfortunately.

I missed the obedience part of the day, so Cino had to stay in the car. I was eager to make up for being late, so when Bob gave me directions as to where to go to be a subject, I did not listen as well as I should have done. This was the first time that I was to make my own way to a particular location without either being placed, or having walked the area with somebody else first.  I did not want to make Bob repeat the directions for a third time, so loaded up with all my gear, off I went. It seemed pretty simple: walk about five minutes down a clear path, following the electric transmission lines, then turn left (east), away from the road for about five minutes.  The instruction I took most note of was not to go too far east, where it would go downhill fairly steeply and be in a densely wooded area.  I assumed that five minutes was at Bob's walking speed, and since he is about a foot taller than me, I thought I should walk for about 7 minutes. Off I went, and after about five minutes the transmission lines themselves took a sharp bend to the east, but I did not think I had gone far enough, so I kept on walking. I then turned east and walked for another 7 minutes or so, until the ground started sloping downwards. The trees were not very dense, so it took a while to find somewhere I could be hidden on at least one side. I found a downed tree and put my ground mat down parallel to it. I used my bag as a pillow and covered myself from toe to head with the camouflage netting. It was quite comfortable, but very chilly. Alan had once again lent me some clothing, not because I needed something warmer (I'd got that covered) but because it was hunting season and we were supposed to wear blaze orange, something I did not have. So I had his overlarge fleece jacket, which kept me very warm.  I was tired, so I settled down to have a nap, and dozed on and off. I'm getting used to this!  Chris and Xenon were to find me first, then I was to stay in place for Alan and Zed to find me. After about an hour and a half I heard on the radio that Chris and Xenon were heading back to base, having not found me. I started wondering - was I in the right place? Bob called me on the radio, and asked whether I was on the right side of the transmission lines - as far as I could tell, I was on the RIGHT side, i.e., not the LEFT side. But what he meant was not that: he wanted to know if I was on the CORRECT side, which was the north, not the south. Actually, I was on the south side...  So then Alan and Zed set off to find me. Time passed and passed and passed. Eventually, they headed back to base too. By now, I had been in position for over three hours.  So Bob decided that Harry and Soho should come and find me, and Bob asked me to be specific about where I was. Well, I tried, but by this time I was pretty sure I was in the wrong place, so how could I explain where I was? Needless to say, Soho did not smell me out, and Harry asked me to come to the transmission lines.  Which I arrived at very quickly.  I knew where they were, I knew where I was, it was just not where I thought I was on the map.  I had gone more than twice as far south as I should have done.  I tried to remember exactly what Bob had said. Eventually I remembered that he had said the transmission lines were the boundary of the sector. Why did I not remember that during the four hours I was lying there?  I had effectively messed up the searches for two members that day, and I felt very bad about it. Even though everyone was very kind, and everyone said they had all placed themselves, or others, out of the correct sector, I still felt very embarrassed. I had been given several opportunities to correct my mistake, but I felt so sure I was in the right place. I really, really need to work on my navigational skills.

 By the time we got back to base, some people had already left, but those who were still there insisted it was time for Cino to do some work. I would not have minded just slinking off with my own tail between my legs, but there they were, thinking of my dog.  I passed out hot dog and other tasty treats to the five members there, and they each called to Cino, getting further and further away from him, and in Fiona's case, hiding partially in the woods. Thankfully Cino did a better job than me that day, and happily ran between each of them getting food and praise. He seemed happiest when going to Fiona, the only woman there, than the guys, but maybe that was because she called him more enthusiastically? Anyway, I think he felt he had a worthwhile time, even if he was stuck in the back of the car for four hours.

Just to top off my navigational failings of the day, I had to ask Fiona how to get back to the I270:  I really no idea where I was. I need to do better! 

Bob had mentioned that the outdoors store REI offered a variety of courses in navigation, so as soon as I got home, I logged onto the computer and found myself a course: the Fundamentals of Map & Compass.  I am hoping for a miracle.

Session 6: Runaways

Since the last session I had a different kind of session at one of my favorite shops, Hudson Trail Outfitters. I spent an enjoyable couple of hours working out which boots to get and what other accessories would be useful.  Why do the shop assistants always recommend the most expensive options? (OK, I do know the answer to that). Well, the Asolos, individually stitched and made in Italy really did seem to be the most comfortable, so they would have to do. I also got some gaiters, unfortunately the only ones that fit me (ie. Short enough but waterproof) were red, not so great for concealment, but I’m sure they’ll get muddy quickly enough. I had also made good use of Amazon.com and had purchased a camelback, a decent compass and a book about wilderness navigation. Unfortunately, the book has not yet been read. Having ascertained that it is indeed possible to spend several hundred dollars on this game, I was ready to set out and get the most out of my new equipment. I somewhat self-consciously put on the bright red gaiters, hoping that the others did not notice all the shiny new toys I had. If they did, they politely did not say anything.

Today’s location was Little Bennett State Park, at the Horse Trailer Parking Lot. It was aptly named, as throughout the morning the trailers arrived, most with two horses, most with two women. Today was a re-certification day for two of the members, required every two years for each human/dog team. The scenario was specified as such: I was a geo-casher who had not returned, presumed to have gone off-path following a bird sighting. As the subject, I had to be “non-responsive” when found by the dog, since I was supposed to be unconscious.



Hiking up the Hill

I walked with Gemma to the defined sector, and we found a nice spot on a pretty steep hill, with downed-trees on two sides and brush on the other. I lay down on an army-surplus foam mat and covered myself with camouflage netting, two other items I had recently purchased. I made sure my blue backpack was well hidden, since last time it was the giveaway to my location.  Only 20 minutes later I was found by Vector, who walked over me, then jumped on me. I suppose I could have moved my arm to protect my neck from being stood upon, but I was trying to fulfill my instructions to the word!  Elsa and Vector passed their re-certification with flying colors. 

My view when prone

Later in the day Cino got his first lesson in searching.  Gemma, a very capable and experienced SAR member did “runaways” with me: she got Cino all excited using her voice, body language and treats, then, with me holding his collar to restrain him, she ran away with him watching, and hid partially behind a tree. As soon as she was hidden, I let go of his collar and he went bounding after her. He did not look left or right, but stayed focused on her all the time. As soon as he got to her he was rewarded with treats and praise.  We did this twice, and it worked beautifully. He went absolutely in a straight line, jumping over branches and with great enthusiasm. Because he did it so well, Gemma decided he could try the next step in runaways. This is where the subject runs down a path and then darts into the undergrowth for a short distance and goes out of sight. It is important to check the wind position since the wind must be coming from the direction of the subject, so that the dog notices the smell as he runs down the path. Gemma told me to look for the head jerk as he runs past the spot where she is hiding, which is immediately followed by his body turning. Once again he did a perfect job. All this was done with a 20 ft leash trailing, but not being held by me. I was initially worried that once he realized he was not under my physical control he might take off after some critter, but Gemma did such a good job of keeping his attention that it was a non-issue.  Great!

Next step was trailing Gemma with her GSD Tucker to find a cadaver casket. Tucker is certified as a tracking dog, and her other GSD as a tracking and cadaver dog. As we were searching for the casket, I was learning about this other skill. One advantage of cadaver is that it is stationary, but it may be spread in many different locations. Also, it may be fresh or even decades old. To train their dogs in human cadaver work requires – human remains. Apparently bones can be purchased over the internet. They use donated blood, but not their own.  They would, but our blood smells like us, and would confuse the dog. When they made a find, they scrape up dirt/soil from under the remains which has had “seepage”.  They also use extracted teeth.  The casket is about the size of a small tool box into which I did not look too closely. Gemma keeps it in her garage, where, I guess, it gently matures. As she put it “cadaver work is fun”.

Session 5: Long way to go

A very nice time of year to be driving north on Route 28 – the maples and the birches intensifying their reds and yellows, in a predominantly vibrant green landscape.  Cino happily in the back of the CRV, on a sunny, but chilly October morning, on our way to the Monocacy Nature Resources Area, just over the border into Frederick County. The entrance was just off Doctor Belt Road. I wondered if there really was a Dr. Belt, or whether giving a child “the belt” was considered as good as going to the doctor. 

This was Cino’s first  day-time session, and obedience was first up. A convenient large grassy space was nearby, where I found out that my shoes were not at all waterproof: the dew seeped through shoe and sock.  I thought Cino’s off-leash (well, he was on a 40 ft leash) healing was marginally less distracted than the previous session, and he did a pretty passable drop on recall. We did stays, and I hid behind a conveniently located bed of tall ornamental grasses. Cino did not budge, which was really great. Very happy for him!  I put him back in the car, and then hiked with Elsa and Vector through a stream (my feet were already wet, so who cares) to find a subject. After that, they went back to base while I found a new hiding spot and settled down to wait. I’m getting used to this and actually look forward to napping in the woods. I guess it was about an hour till I was found.  At the end of the session, Fiona suggested I get Cino out of the car for him to learn how to be pushy with people. Trouble is, he’s been trained not to be pushy.  About five people stood around in a circle with treats in their hands. I thought Cino would be delighted, but he seemed really nervous. I’m not sure if it was the location, if some of the taller guys made him feel threatened, if it was the dogs in the cars, but he had his little stubby tail tucked under as far as it would go, something I’ve rarely seen in him. They each called him and gave him treats, sometimes teasing him with them, really trying to make him work for the treats by being pushy. He relaxed a bit, but never gave off a confident demeanor. Clearly there’s a long, long way to go.

Session 4: Noises In the dark

This being my fourth outing, with some trepidation I decided I would bring Cino. I also decided that since the dogs spend most of the time in the car, the CRV would be a better choice than the Prius, since at least he can stand up, turn around easily, and I can leave the trunk window open.

I got to the location early, and as usual, was uncertain whether I had found the right place. There were two pick-up trucks parked there, but neither had any dogs in them. Instead there were two guys in camo hanging out, incongruously with a carafe of red wine and two wine glasses. Of course I went up to them (to check the name of the location). It turns out they had been hunting (hence the camo), but had been unsuccessful. I was concerned that hunting and dogs running loose do not go well together, but the hunting was only permissible before 5 pm. They were hunting doves. Well, I was quite glad they had been unsuccessful, really.  They said they were going to hang out until they had finished their cigars and the wine. I guess they were then going to drive home. Well, at least I was not going to be on the road at the same time as them in their inebriated state.

Gradually the others arrived, a good haul, probably 8 people and their dogs. First off, obedience: So I got Cino out of the car, and he was certainly a bit confused. For one, we don’t walk after dusk very much, for two, we never do obedience in the dark, and never in the dark and outside. Still, he did not acquit himself too badly.  I did the drop on recall using a 40 ft line, but unfortunately it was more like a 20 ft line, since it was all knotted up. Note to self: make sure it is free of knots next time.  Well, that was it for Cino’s activity that evening, but not mine.  He was going to have to get used to being in the car by himself for hours at a time, and this was a good place to start.

For the first time, I was part of the search party (well, I accompanied Don and his K9 Weaver).  Alan went off to be the subject and when he called to say he was in place, we took off. Don has been doing this for a decade or so, and Weaver is about 9 years old, so also very experienced.  Don used a combination of his map and a GPS device for navigation. The area was bounded by a road on one side, a creek on another and a drainage on a third.  Once we found the drainage on our left we walked more or less straight towards the creek. Don gave Weaver the “find” command, and she went bounding through the woods between five and ten yards away from us. Once we got to the creek, we walked back along a track parallel to the one we had just taken, about 15 yards away, and then turned and did the same thing for a third time. About an hour had passed, and we had not found Alan. Don was concerned that Alan was not in the specified area, so he called him on the two-way radio and asked him his location. He then asked him to blow his whistle, so that we could find him even if he was not in the right area. Weaver did eventually locate him. Her method is to find him, bark, then come back to Don, then go back to the subject and bark again. Despite Don's misgivings, Alan was in the right area. We had stopped a little short of the creek, otherwise we might have found him sooner.

Then it was my turn to be the subject. Don and Alan headed back to base, for Alan to get Zed and then to come and find me. This time I was not being “placed”, and it was entirely up to me to decide where to hide. Exhilarating!  I had already decided I would place myself inside the drainage. It was quite steep on both sides, and Don had explained previously that it can be difficult to find people in those areas, since in the dark you can only see the opposite side to the one you are walking on, and scent tends to pool at the bottom, depending on wind conditions.
I had been paying a lot of attention to the directions we had been heading in, and using the moon as a partial guide, especially since the compass I had was not very good.  The moon was to the north of me, the road (and base) to the south, and the drainage to the west. I needed to turn west (left) and walk slightly uphill for about five minutes, keeping the moon on my right, then I should find the drainage. I was actually somewhat surprised when I did!  Since we would then be heading back to base, I decided to go further south along the drainage, so it would be closer to walk back later that night. Also, I was looking for somewhere at least moderately comfortable to settle down, and somewhere where I would be difficult to find. I found a ledge at seat-height, with root branches for arm rests. It seemed a good spot, so I got myself comfortable (sort-of) and turned off my headlight. I then got to wondering whether the drainage area was popular among rat families. Certainly there were a lot of scuffling sounds. I realized that the rock I was sitting on had space underneath for little critters to nest. Or maybe even snakes, but I decided it was too cold for them.
It was a long wait. It did cross my mind that maybe I should have picked somewhere where I would be easier to find.  I saw headlights after about 45 minutes, but they passed me by. Then after an hour the headlights came back, and Zed found me, so I thought Alan would appear in a few minutes, but it was not to be. It was after another half an hour that Zed appeared again, and this time I radioed Alan to let him know. Zed had decided not to indicate that evening.
By the time we got back to base, most others had left. It was about 1 am, and the debrief was brief, so I was in bed at 2 am. Much better!

Session 3: Disaster Training

It was a grey and drizzly Sunday morning: the kind when you really want to stay in bed and read a good book followed by a leisurely breakfast with the Sunday papers. Those kinds of Sundays are not for Search and Rescue people, oh no. Off I went, hoping I had everything I needed – waterproof jacket, shoes, some food and a good attitude.

Linthicum Disaster Training Area is a bizarre place. At the outset it looks like a trash transfer location, but a small sign simply with the letters K9 give away that at least part of it is something else. The tarmac quickly gives way to a very pot-holed road, with steep, short hills, such that you cannot really see where you are going until you get to the top. Over one hill was a trailer, which serves as headquarters.  Great, somewhere with a little cover, and a porta potty, vastly superior to peeing in the woods, really. Inside the trailer were a couple of smelly overstuffed sofas and a selection of dog crates. Good, I was in the right place.

But what a place: it really did look like an earthquake zone. To one side, huge cement tubes, half buried in a short hill; In front, wooden pallets, higgledy piggledy, piled 30 feet high; a huge wood pile undulating and precarious-looking; a burnt-out bus, and two boats, strangely out of place, even in this setting.  Behind the trailer was a fenced in area which looked a bit like an agility course, but with ladders horizontally high above the ground and other fearsome looking obstacles.  Apparently there are only a very few such training locations on the East Coast, and groups come from considerable distances to train here.

There were only two people (and three dogs) there apart from me, so lots of individual training. It was too slippery for the dogs to safely navigate the wooden obstacles (although one pretended she had to go up there, just for fun), so most of the work for the dogs was for them to find us in the barrels (nice and warm and dry).  But even hiding in the barrel was more complex than I realized. For a start, each dog works in a different way, and each needs different rewards. It is not easy to count 30 barks before opening the lid to the barrel a crack. It is really not easy to hold a tug toy when you are lying flat on your stomach and to engage the dog in the appropriate amount of tug play (especially when your arms are being bashed from side to side on the barrel rim, and the dogs teeth are precariously close to your fingers).  The most important thing is to make the dog really want to find you.  I was told that a good SAR dog does not make a good pet dog: they need to be a bit crazy and wild.  Each time I go I realize it is not going to be easy to do this with Cino.

I was somewhat cheered that one dog was not very enthusiastic, and basically was not “indicating” in the right way. He seemed confused about what he was supposed to do.  Most of the people with this group have been doing it for years, but this one woman and her dog had been doing it for only a year, therefore were still novices. They have not yet passed the NASAR SARTECH II Certification.  OK, I’m not entirely sure what that is, either. But it is difficult!

Did I mention it was rather a wet day? And by the end of the morning I had rather wet feet, even though the shoes I was wearing are supposed to be waterproof. Time to visit Hudson Trail Outfitters.  At least if I can stay dry, I will have achieved something.

Session 2: SAR at Night

Once a month the SAR training starts at dusk – clearly a lot of people are missing overnight and dogs and handlers have to be able to do their job at any time of the day or night. Once qualified, the SAR teams are on-call 24 hours a day, quite a commitment.

My first challenge was to find the site: I asked for detailed directions and received a curt email saying to look at the map – I did, and the location seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. I was kindly told there was a swing arm gate. So I drove down a single lane road at dusk, and there were plenty of gates, but most had houses behind them. One did not, so I drove up the dirt driveway into a field. Boy was I pleased to see another car already up there, and yes, there was a dog in the car. Success!

It was the first cool night of the summer, which I realized as I got out of the car. What was it I had read about being prepared? Well, this time I had failed to bring any warm clothing. OK, don’t complain, it won’t look good.

First off, I was “placed” in location. Chris, who was to search for me, gave me a stadium blanket to sit on, which was not only helpful, but helped me to stay moderately warm in the hour and a half I waited in the dark. Yes, it was spooky. Yes, live creatures were rustling around me. And this time, I had very little idea about where base was.  One thing you learn is that each dog has a different reward system. This time I was to ignore the dog on her first approach, then the second time I was to give her lots of treats. I am really glad I had my gloves on, since Xenon was pretty damn eager to get at those treats!

By the time we got back to base, everybody else was back. There was some “bark barrel” work: somebody hides in a human-sized barrel and holds the lid on tight. The dog is supposed to run straight to it, bark like crazy, and try and pull the lid off. After the dog has barked 30 or 40 times (the person in the barrel is supposed to count), the lid is opened and the dog is engaged in a game of tug. Boy can these dogs tug! I was not asked to volunteer for barrel duty this time, though I have to say it looked kind of warm inside… I was trying hard not to look too cold. Then some people got out their chairs, the snacks came out, oh, so did the case of beer. Remember, we were not close to anybody’s home. The beer was brought, I think, by the guy who is a police officer during the day.  Just about everybody partook. Then the stories started, this was around 1 am, about the time I have usually been asleep for two hours.  It was not getting any warmer.

Suddenly, Alan was at my side, with a warm coat. I definitely like this guy! At least I was no longer cold, though my feet were starting to hurt. Mental note to put my chair in the car for next time …

I had a suspicion the stories were being told for my sake. Gory ones of finding parts of bodies; stories about sleeping in a gym with plenty of people and dogs, and rudimentary sanitary arrangements; to be honest, I can’t remember most, it was rather late. At 3 am, Alan confirmed that the two hours of story-telling was almost certainly for my benefit. I was very glad he lent me a jacket!

My First SAR Training session

The first thing I found out was that to train in search and rescue you have to find the training sites.  Well, if you can't navigate to the start point, how are you going to find your way around in woods, streams and fields?  I set off (without my poodle) in plenty of time for the 9 am start. The drive took about 45 minutes, the last part of which was up a rather pot-holed dirt track.  And there I found a couple of SUVs and a pic-up truck. So I parked my Prius next to them. I can just imagine what they thought: this one won't last long. And out of the Prius came a middle-aged woman, shortish, and not, well shall we say, not very athletic looking. OK, so here's a picture of me, with Cino (OK, so I like dressing him up, too).
The first task was to work on orienteering. We were divided up into two groups of three. Each group had a US Geological Survey map with two x marks, for each group. We had to place a marker at each of those points, then retrieve the markers the other group placed. No use of GPS devices (why not?) just map and compass. So off I go, with Alan* a retiree who started this about two years ago and is not quite certified, and Bob, a young guy, tall and skinny, with long, long legs. Ho Hum, I thought, let's see if I can keep up. Well, it was a challenge! It was hot (last week in August), steep, and we went through the undergrowth, those places which normal people do not walk. Briars, logs on logs, poison ivy.  But so interesting! Ask anybody who has ever been walking with me if I have a good sense of direction, and they will tell you I do not. But suddenly I was really starting to understand the map, the contours, what to expect.  Bob hardly used the map at all after glancing at it to start with: he has an innate sense of direction, probably helped by an ability to look at a map and know he will be walking uphill for 5 mins, then there will be a gully on the left, followed by a stream a little further on, and an old stone house on the right. And he gets this by glancing at the map. I was grateful I was with Alan who clearly had to work very hard to plot the route.

After about an hour we got to our first x point, which Bob confirmed by using the banned GPS.  And I believed I knew exactly where we were. Actually, it is easy if you are following two other people.

I know this is getting long and boring - well, it was quite long, but the boring part came a little later. So, we got back to base, and felt we had done quite well, better than the other group, of course!  Then it was time for the dogs to have a little fun. The Search.  I knew that I was going to be the "subject", and Bob told me to go and hide "near that old burnt out car we passed on our way back".  OK, I thought, that's only about a 5 min walk, I can easily find it. After all, I've walked that way before, I have a map, and now I know how to use it.  Ha funny ha. Off I went, with a two-way radio and borrowed camo net (and my water, which I had not taken earlier. One learns all sorts of things doing SAR, not least that one is supposed to be prepared, and nobody will tell you what to take). I walked down a path before turning left - but then I was in a field, and I was not supposed to be in a field.  So I double backed and walked down another path, which kind-of looked right. Funny how things look different when going in the opposite direction.  Gosh was I pleased when I found the car, about 15 minutes later.  I found a comfortable spot between two trees and settled down to wait. Another thing I had forgotten to ask: how long would I be waiting for? Well, I could watch the birds. Listen to the scrabbling (please let it be a squirrel, not a rat). Wow, a pilleated woodpecker! Now what?  How long has passed - about 1/2 hour. Change position. Woops, sitting on poison ivy.  Hmmn, maybe I should have brought a book?  Another hour. At least I could hear some exchange on the radio. One subject had been found. Well, at least the radio is working. 1 hour and a half. Hmmmn. Wait, do I hear a bell? Is that Zed thundering towards me? Yes, he jumps right on me, then heads back into the woods. Here he comes again! Yes Zed, good boy, go fetch! And again, this time with Alan.  So we walk back to base, and everyone is there. We go round the group, each person saying how "their" training went that day. Well, said I, really interesting! I've never sat by myself in the woods for an hour and a half, before. I enjoyed it! And what is more, that was true. Maybe some of them think I won't be back, but then, they don't know me - yet.

* All names of people and dogs have been changed for their protection!

Why I Decided to Try Search and Rescue

I needed something new in my life. Something which would be a challenge, interesting and most of all, involve my fab standard poodle, Cino.
I have done obedience with him, he gets bored quickly. I tried tracking last year, but its all on-leash, and not very interesting, really. So, why not Search and Rescue? What could be better than helping to find somebody lost in the wilderness? Why not see if my dog could do this? I went on my first training session just over a month ago, and am still going - so that's something! But more and more it seems as if my darling poodle is not really the right kind of dog for this. No matter. I will pursue this until somebody tells me not to. I won't give up. So this is the story of each weekend's exploits.