Go Find!
Kelly and I went on a search yesterday with a recovery dog named Sigmund Freud. Sig is a very smart and hard worker and loves his work. It was a very cold and windy day in Corbett, OR and the day started for us at "Oh - dark- thirty" in the morning. On the search with us was a volunteer group called Mountain Wave. They provide communications support for the Sheriff and all of the searchers and they find a lot of satisfaction in bringing their technology and skills into the field to make the search run smoother. Also on site were a team of ground searchers, commonly called "ground pounders". In this case they were "milk drinkers", a group of Explorer Scouts; kids whose job it is to go in a straight line thru the brush and brambles, searching every square inch with their eyes. I find their service and commitment impressive. All us on the search were looking and all of us found something in ourselves, which is perhaps the most important find of all. At the end of the day, Sig made his find of the body.
One of the changes I have made over the last year is to make join a K-9 search and rescue group. It was not planned nor was it a spur of the moment event. Rather, it was a chain of seemingly random events over the last quarter century that slowly pulls people and events together into a locus. The point of focus at the moment of decision was a dog. Most readers here know the Joe story so I won't review the past except to point out there was a connection of events that led to Joe, and a locus formed around him to force action. The action in this case was for Kelly, Joe and I to find and join a K9SAR group.
I quickly found that K9SAR provided me with a Brand New context for the physical aspects of my life: new boots, no cotton, waterproof, pagers going off at 1 am, all weather, training, ready to respond at all times. It was a new lens to view the world thru. It also proved to me that I can get up at 1am and jump into the pitch black forest in a downpour and feel capable and comfortable. I found that I can sit quietly by myself in that same place and wait for a dog to find me on a training exercise, without anxiety or fear. SAR has reminded me how good helping others feels. I am happier for it and that has been a good find for me.
Watching the ancient bonds between dog and man at work between handler and K9 partner has been nothing short of inspirational, and led me to search for and my K9 partner Andy. Andy is a very smart animal and to this point the obedience training has been "if you want me to sit, you have to say it this way". I'm getting better. We are now beginning our service training, tracking people. We will have to find new ways to communicate with each other if we are to succeed. We are excited as all hell, and can't wait to certify, and respond to our first live search. I wonder what changes in our lives will come, out of that locus of events leading to that search, when I snap Andy's harness to my lead and off we go with the words: "Go Find!"
One of the changes I have made over the last year is to make join a K-9 search and rescue group. It was not planned nor was it a spur of the moment event. Rather, it was a chain of seemingly random events over the last quarter century that slowly pulls people and events together into a locus. The point of focus at the moment of decision was a dog. Most readers here know the Joe story so I won't review the past except to point out there was a connection of events that led to Joe, and a locus formed around him to force action. The action in this case was for Kelly, Joe and I to find and join a K9SAR group.
I quickly found that K9SAR provided me with a Brand New context for the physical aspects of my life: new boots, no cotton, waterproof, pagers going off at 1 am, all weather, training, ready to respond at all times. It was a new lens to view the world thru. It also proved to me that I can get up at 1am and jump into the pitch black forest in a downpour and feel capable and comfortable. I found that I can sit quietly by myself in that same place and wait for a dog to find me on a training exercise, without anxiety or fear. SAR has reminded me how good helping others feels. I am happier for it and that has been a good find for me.
Watching the ancient bonds between dog and man at work between handler and K9 partner has been nothing short of inspirational, and led me to search for and my K9 partner Andy. Andy is a very smart animal and to this point the obedience training has been "if you want me to sit, you have to say it this way". I'm getting better. We are now beginning our service training, tracking people. We will have to find new ways to communicate with each other if we are to succeed. We are excited as all hell, and can't wait to certify, and respond to our first live search. I wonder what changes in our lives will come, out of that locus of events leading to that search, when I snap Andy's harness to my lead and off we go with the words: "Go Find!"