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!
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 …
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!
No comments:
Post a Comment