As most of you know, Flash is Fox's replacement. Slowly he is taking on Magic's roll as we went to water seminars as well.

On Tuesday, they became a new team. As much as it hurt to not have Fox at my side, they made me full of pride at their ability to work.

Some of you have seen Flash work with his demos at the Nationals in MD and Tulsa OK. As a Forensic speciality dog, his scent work is awesome.
Over the past two years, his searches have been with Fox at his side.

Today I had to trust my dog.

Tuesday April 22, 2008
CASAR K-9's Malvern Search
Blood, Sweat N Cheers

Monday had been catch up time after the long three days at Harrison shows. I was excited at Make'n's wins and finishing his RE title, but sad as well because I love to work him. I was still in thought mode of what to do next, when the phone call brought me back to SAR time.

There had been a police officer shot in Malvern. I had heard it on the news. In the attack, the man who shot him, had been in turn stabbed by the officer.

He had managed to escape after the fight into the dark wooded area and quarry below. Our job would be to find the "body" or at least clear the heavily brush filled areas where he might have hidden. I requested armed police backup.

We drove there at 7:30 Tuesday morning through the heavy traffic. Slow and long, Sharon and I talked about the fact we both had an experienced dog and a new one. Its fun to play what ifs...

Flash is a young boy with SAR seasoning along side Fox. My best. Magic would be his back up today. Magic is a "large sector" searcher and covers acres on his own. His own man, he is independent. I wondered how it might effect Flash to work with someone besides Fox.

Sharon had the same with her two. Taylor is a red Dobie. Cougar a Vizsla who is young, but very good at search. Time would be asking questions of the young ones today.

We arrived and were briefed and set off for the sector to be searched.
The info was limited. But we decided to use the forensic dogs first to see if we could pick up anything DNA wise for the officers.

We parked in the shade to leave the other dogs relaxed and cool and started down the wooded dirt track. Slowly, as Flash was nose to ground..
once he sat..again. Each time I knew it was a blood droplet. But we knew the injured cop had walked back out to his car. It wasn't the info we needed, but it was clear Flash and then Taylor were on to the blood evidence.

At the corner, we stopped at some painting on the ground. Flash worked into both, sat at the one nearest the cliff. He ignored the other. A soft laugh came from one of the watchers. He picked the right one. The other circle was where the officers flashlight was dropped. The circle where Flash sat was the drops of blood on the leaves that had been collected that night before the rains.

I rewarded and ask Flash "Find More" and he moved off down the road to my left. About 100 feet in, we encountered another set of white paint circles..I waited..he sat and marked 3 of them.. all where blood had been collected. One where the bloody knife handle had fallen. I rewarded and he move on down the road away from the fight scene. NOW we got excited as we knew the other officer had not gone this far.

In a wide spot, off the main track, the edge opened into a partly cleared ground. It was clear the dogs were working scent so I waited. In, to the edge, off to the hill and round to the back. Slowly working, back to me.
Flash went to the edge, Taylor out on to the point. I followed slowly.

Oh God..Sharon call Taylor! It was a sharp 50 foot drop to the rock quarry below! And the footing was slippery slate. I put the leash back on Flash. My heart beat was very hard and fast! One false step could have ended in death for a dog.

As I back off to the safer ground, I asked Flash to check close. He has such fine control as we work crime scenes and can't disturb anything. And within a few steps I had 3 indications of blood evidence on the stones. I had NO marking tape..but we built the small stone markers with a piece of paper to show where we wanted the lab to collect dirt and test for blood.

Now the night of the attack, we had 3/4 of an inch of rain. HARD down pours. It might be we didn't have enough left to test, but we would at least try. It was the first time we knew it was the attackers blood. NO one else had been down there.

After, I decided I'd push Flash down the road to re check to make sure that he had cleared it. He had already gone about 50 feet and come back to a huge slide on the side of the quarry walls. The "path" down.

As I started, Taylor came along for the walk. I had two dogs, an officer for cover and time to relax. Nothing showed..no dog showed any interest in scent. I turned after about 100 feet and returned to the clearing. I eyed the path down into the quarry. NO WAY..<G> my body is just to old for that steep of a slide. I returned to the cars to drive to the bottom level.

We had been working over an hour and the temps had began to climb into the high 70's. I packed water into my pockets and leashed Magic. Flash had given me the clues, but now I needed a dog to "clear" the larger areas of the quarry. Magic was straining to run.

As I walked in, I was flanked by Sharon, Cougar and two officers. Water, rock piles, snakes and heat were the least of my worries. Finding a live attacker was reason for caution. The tree growth was thick and full of briers.

Magic was into the first blue pool. Swimming, he tested the water by biting it. He was cooling off while working. Nothing stupid in the Magic man. I watched closely for snakes. The ones from that day after search were 5 footers and loaded with poison.

As he came back in to me, he set off up the road at a very fast clip. Not a run, but a good trot. I looked for Sharon, but I found myself alone with just a police back up. Sharon had gone into the thickest parts with her young dog doing his best to "clear" the swamps and hillocks. I followed Magic as fast as I could. He was very much on a mission.

He stopped at a trail..he wanted me to follow, but I took the road in the same direction. Safer. He worked it, but soon returned to me. He went back to the first track he had worked, and continued around to the slide.

Twice he went into the wooded zones..lifted to sniff, but continued along the rocky edge. He stopped at the base of the slide where the path had come down..he sat. Blood. He also checked the next water pool. I almost had to go get him out as he sank into the silty muddy bottom.

I now had met up with Sharon and the officer who had gone into check the zones Magic had looked into. They all seem to be part of a scent trail.
The Vizsla was zig zagging all in between the paths. But once Magic met up with Cougar, they both took off back along the track to the original spot Magic had wanted me to follow him. I took the road, Cougar and the officer took the path. I met the both at the top where it met the upper road. Magic went straight to the path, sniffed, turned to the road in the middle of the three offered, and booked. I had to hustle to keep up with him.

As we approached the paved road I pulled him. It wasn't easy. He was moving fast, but I wasn't sure where we were and I had no back up now. I yelled for Sharon and her back up to call in the LT. I waited with Magic in the shade. I was hot, sweating and very tired. I was 3 hours into this now. I down a bottle of water and shared with Magic.

I saw Sharon and her officer in the big field to my left. She was clearing the large area behind the water treatment plant. I waited for my back up.

Once the LT had driven his jeep up to the road, I talked with him about the net they had set that night in the rain. This road was not covered.
Only the ways in and out of the park and quarry. Since this paved road went to the water plant, they had not covered it. The fields and woods beyond opened onto the interstate I30 verges.

I said "lets see where he went", and turned Magic loose. He trotted off in a steady pace over the grass, to the first wooded group, on to the wooded edge. At first he stopped and looked into the woods, a ditch was at the bottom of the path. He worked it, turned right and went forward again at a ground eating pace. It was very clear he was working and intent on the scent. I followed along with two officers.

Twice he lost it, circled and went on..always against the wooded edge like the attacker was ready to hide should lights or searchers appear. I could see Magic was tired, hot and wanted to get done.. I was with him 100%. The temps were not in the 80's and I was sweating up a storm.
Magic, still in his winter fur, was getting to hot and soon I'd have to pull him.

As we approached the small hill, he started into the interstate woods! I screamed as I knew he has no fears for the cars. I could see a black spot on the road! He slowed, waited. Just tired enough to let me catch up to him. I attached the leash and told them that area would have to be check by human feet. Magic doesn't work on a leash.

As we stood talking, he told me of the buzzard he had seen in a tree. So close he could walk almost up to it. It had made no sense before, but he pointed to the tree and the feather there. I sent Magic into the hill brush and soon he had found a spot of flattened grass. He sat and barked!
the first solid alert. The human with cadaver blood had rested waiting here. Magic had indeed tracked the blood trail. I cheered him and feed him cookies. I had a very very tried and hot dog. I asked to take him back to change dogs.

As the unit pulled in to pick us up, I saw the officers walk into the verge to check it. I rested knowing I was not done yet.

At the park pavilion where we had sheltered the other dogs, it was cool.
Sharon was resting and playing with Cougar. I put Magic in his crate with an ice cube in his water, took Flash, and asked if she was ready to work.
I miss understood, and thought she was going to rest Cougar a bit more, so left again to check the trail with Flash.

As I got to the hill again, I was informed they had found tire track where a car had been hidden in the trees from the I30 verge. It was clear he had lain in wait for someone to pick him up and walked out to the car.
They had driven off to safety. We had lost our attacker.

I worked the hill with Flash again, and again I had blood drops. He too worked over to the grass and alerted on the scent. Flash backed up Magic's "find" and I walked back to get Sharon to come work it too.

We drove back to the hill, and I had her take Taylor..he was working it the very same as Magic, and soon had hit the flat patch and he too gave the sit alert. Now we were asked to work the car tracks.

I ask Flash to check, and he went through the same area Magic had tried to pull me to. He tracked out to the wooded edge and sat three times..in a line next to the car tracks. The trail ended there.

Now it was Sharon's turn, and Taylor came in lifting his nose into the trees. Blood was spreading in the heat of the afternoon sun. It was now
85* and the mid day sun was lifting scent into all of the brush around us. Far harder for the big dogs, when schips are only inches from the ground. He finally gave her an alert sit after checking every leaf and tree<G>.

It was time for me to go rest and eat. I could feel the sugar loss coming in to fast now. They took us off to the diner to relax and get us food.
And of course to debrief.

It was there I learned how much we were NOT told. They wanted to see how the dogs back up or veered from their ideas of what had gone down. We came so close to what they knew! It was clear how much they believed in the dogs. And how well the dogs had done.

But in my mind I had questions too. HOW had they decided to TRACK a human not air scent cadaver. Yes they had a few drops of old blood, but when did they cross to LIVE scent?

I had to think on it for a few days, then called my mentor to ask that question. "COULD a SAR dog be smart enough to reason that all of the blood was attached to a walking human scent and then follow the trail??

Answer...the man was bleeding. Probably loaded with other body fluids if the chest was open. He was a "walking" cadaver. The blood is the greatest of all diffused scents, so every step he took spread out the blood scent.
The more he walked, the more blood was soaked into his camouflage and probably he held his hands on the wound, wiping them on his pants as he got to wet with the blood.

The scent was spread all over the surface of the clothes, and he was just leaving scent drift everywhere. Rain might have washed it off the TOP layer, but the diffused blood was under leaves, all over protected grasses, and tree trunks. But yes..Magic somewhere had reasoned out the human element and followed BOTH to its end. The track was rained on, aged almost 5 days.

I am impressed. I have no idea how he figured it out, but then he is a Schipperke. No other explanation is needed. I cheer him on, give loads of treats and rest us both for the next call out.

I headed home, took my shower, and went to check my email. Back to normal.<G> And now I come to share the work we do for the service of man.

I just hope they get him someday. But my part is done.. Mine, and the schips, Sharon and her boys. It amazed even me<G>! The Blood trail, The sweat and at the end, how could we not Cheer them on!?

Awesome little black dogs. They lay here as I write, at my feet. Heart beating and keeping me centered within. Waiting for the next adventure.
Brave and loving, they serve that other might live.
 

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