Category Archives: Abigail New York State of Mind Vom Französisch Wald

Abby a certified search dog and her life as such

Relaxing tuesday

Posted on by

Best friends

 

The girls have been hard at work these past few months so we took today off and just relaxed. The shepherds and the pug and I hit the trails and took a nice hike in the fall sun. As usual i had the camera, just can’t miss a moment to capture them in nature!

Which one of these doesn't belong??

 

They loved running through the leaves and chasing each other all over. Fugly didn’t get picked on to much which was good, its not his fault hes the smallest!

gawwwrrr

 

Run guys run!

 

The day finished out with a 2 mile run with the girls and then we picked up Otto from Kara’s house to come stay with us for awhile. The pack was pretty happy to see him!

 

Abby’s first search……..or two

Posted on by

Last week Abby had her first search as a certified dog, and I my first search as a certified handler. Tuesday afternoon we were called up to Rochester NY to search for a missing man who never returned home from his walk. Abby and I arrived and were fielded immediately clearing an area till dark. We spent the night in Greece and reported back to staging at 0800 wednesday morning. By this time Rita Argiros and K9’s Ripley and Raven had arrived as had Erik and Brook both flankers from our team and Kara a flanker from Amigo SAR dogs. We were assigned a new area that bordered a swamp and a road the man frequently walked down with his 2 dogs. Sandra from Oswego search and rescue team also joined us and Abby and I were thankful for the extra help!

With just a little far away interest across the swamp Abby and I finished up our areas and headed home that evening. Abby did amazing, she worked hard, listened well, and sufficiently cleared her areas. All our hard work was paying off and I was very happy to see her work. I surprised myself as well, and was very calm and confident during the whole search process. This was not my first search by any means, i’ve been to 20 +, but it was my first time in “the hot seat” as a crew boss and K9 handler. The last 3 years of search and rescue training really prepared me for everything that i experienced, as well as my dog training experience and knowledge. I guess trusting your dog really does pay off!!!

Great job Abby

*Update* 2 fishermen found the body off a well traveled road less then a week later. It was directly across from the swamp area we searched, Abby was right!!!

 

But Abby’s first week was not over yet!!!

Saturday morning we recieved a call at 0630 of a missing hiker who never came home the night before. Abby and I picked up Kara and headed 3 hours east to Olive NY. We had barely gotten into the door of Incident Command when we were given an area and sent back out. I should have looked at the map a little better!!!!!! The brown elevation lines were blending in together the area was so steep, but Kara, Abby, and I knew this mans life depended on it and we packed our gear and started our area. The forecast was for 7+ inches of snow that afternoon and evening and we knew there was a limited window of time to find this guy. The terrain was a tough as the map predicted and the higher peaks were covered in snow. After about 3 hours of searching snow started falling and accumulating quickly. We had just hit 4 miles and finished our second pass around the ravines we were searching when my cell phone rang………the missing hiker had walked out of the woods 8 miles off the other side of the peak, he was safe, and he was alive! Kara and I were ecstatic, i threw Abby her ball and she got to carry it all the way back to the truck. We waited back at base for Buddy and K9 Max and Karen and K9 Ice to return and then we hit the road with a long snowy ride home.

Our 4 mile track

 

Abby slept all the way home, and most the next day as well, she deserved it she had a busy week at work!

A searchful week

Posted on by

Tuesday afternoon we received a call of a missing man in Rochester NY. Abby and I hit the truck and drove the 3 hours to the city of Greece right on lake Ontario as far north as we could go before hitting Canada! We were fielded immediately and put right to work clearing an area till dark fell. We spent the night and reported to staging the next morning at 8 am.  Abby and I put in another day of clearing areas which included some very swampy and wet terrain. Abby worked great and we headed home Wednesday night to let fresh K9’s take over the next day.

Abby taking a rest

Well no rest for the weary!!!

 

This morning at 630am my phone rang, we had a missing hiker 3 hours east in Olive NY in Ulster County. The bad news, 7-10 inches of snow projected for this evening. We picked up Kara to be our flanker and headed right out. We were in the IC no more then 5 minutes before we had an search area, if only i had known what the area was!!!!!!!

We started up a jeep trail but quickly realized that Balsam Cap was a trail less climb and the area we were assigned was steep. Our goal was not to make it to the peek but to work the drainages up and down below it, where our missing hiker may have gotten stuck, lost, or hurt. 4 miles straight up and down worked us hard, including a few slips and slides down into the ravine. Abby worked like a pro and never tired out or gave up, she did everything i asked of her and more, i think the 15 miles a week of running may be paying off!!!!

The blue line is the tip of our path

 

The blue line above is just the tip of the path we took, most of it up and down steep inclines. Tonight will be a quite one, abby curled up asleep in whatever bed is closest to me and the rest of the dogs spread around happy mom is home!

Abigail nails it!

Posted on by

Last month Abby completed her certification for live airscent and Human Remains Detection for New York State Federation of Search and Rescue. Earlier this month at our annual Combined Federation Training she completed her water HRD certification as well. Congrats to abby for such a wonderful job!

Certified Airscent Live, HRD, and Water K9 Abby!!!!

 

 

Playing catch up!

Posted on by

Well it would be impossible to catch up this blog as i have lagged behind to much! My free flow of words just seems to get stopped up, whats that called writers block???

A quick recap finds everyone well. The sar girls are amazing, really working their butts off!! Emeline is doing great, her indication is solid and fast. I will never have to question whether or not she finds a subject. Her multiple refinds provides long hard bark and  bounces at me loud enough to wake a deaf person! She actually makes the ground tremble!!!! Her searching was natural, just pure genetics but her brain was assembled differently then her sisters, something her mother threw in to the mix. She is a thinker and will not allow me to pass by the scent cone. I’m amazed at the progress she has made and am thrilled that i gave her the chance to nail everything perfectly like i knew she could do before moving her on. Bravo Emeline Bravo!

Eme-lion the beast!

Raina will be a year old in less then a month! It’s crazy to imagine that she has already been with us for that long. Such a quick learning pup she amazes me every day with her balance, work ethic, and drive to be a prominent friend to her owner. I have held back on her testing because of her age, not lack of ability. She could have certified months ago with flawless searching and indication, and has yet to reach that “hiccup” period in her youth. While everyday i wait for it, every time we train she re confirms to me that she really is just that good. There are good things to come in the future with miss Rainy and i will keep you posted!

Rainy taking a quick break from her search area.

Abby has been doing great and is proving to be a solid worker. Her skill level is above and beyond what i had dreamed and she is fitting into the pack well now that she has learned all the dog play rules. The remainder of this month will be a huge test for Abby and i know she can do it. I’m so proud of her and what she has already achieved!

My amazing "knock you to your butt" indication dog!

Mom’s home!!!

Posted on by

Everyday i come home, you would swear i’d have been gone for years 🙂 Makes you feel a little better about yourself doesn’t it???  Below is a short video shot of the pack, you’ll see most of them weave in and out of the kitchen happy to have me back home safe and sound. Take note of Otto the 9 week old GSD pup, hes new to the pack only with us a few days when this was shot. His body language in the beginning playing with the other dogs is great, he learned how to position his ears and what to do with his body to solicit play without coming on to aggressive or scary. This boy is amazing and my pack is incredible at giving dogs what they need.

 

When all is said and done

Posted on by

Well the testing has begun and my life will be full of it over the next few months. Raina completed her first two test in the spring, but i’ve held off doing more as she can’t certify until she is at least a year old. Abby just completed her first 3 tests and we will be traveling out of town Friday to complete her fourth! She has done exceptionally well i am so proud of her! I hope to have her certified by the end of the month. She is working long hard problems at our trainings recently including night time heavy brush pond problems! Her indication is still solid even after a tiring 45 minute problem and her body language is great once she hits scent.

Abigail

The show that goes on

Posted on by

I’m a little behind in my blog posts but trying to catch up!!

Last sunday Eagle Valley search dogs had to attend the dog show in Whitney Point NY. I was presented with the AKC CAR award money for the grant i wrote earlier this year. This 2000 dollars will go to supporting our fall Combined Federation search seminar in the end of september. Abby and her real sister Raven both did short demo’s of the recall refind indication sequence and abby was available for people to meet and greet.

social butterfly

 

Our table attracted a lot of attention and hopefully we were able to scout out some new volunteers to come hide and train with us!!! If you are ever interested and in the Broome County or Delaware County area email me EliteInstinctCanine@gmail.com  We are always looking for volunteers to go get lost!!!

❤