As many of you know, it's been a long road back from Kidney, Diabetes and foot problems. Life moves on. The Sept 25^th search didn't end with a recovery...but was more than a "successful" search. It was the reemergence of SARSchips.

There are many out there that made this search possible. You who have given me help, encouragement, love and a hard shove when needed. Your special blessings, private posts, phone calls of love ALL are the wind beneath my wings.

And some like Sharon, Dale, Rhonda, Hope, Kelly, Peggy, Jerry, Julie, and a few others who went beyond the "call of duty" to insure I had time to find myself once again--rebuild courage and stay in SAR. And Kathy who calls every night to keep me in line!! And she, of course, is abetted by a certain lady in Oklahoma. And who can forget the singing CT 6 with that resounding Echo??

For my special list friends...my only family. This one is for you.

Return To Life

The call came late Tuesday Afternoon. I was off helping Ms. Joy get new glasses and her car registered on base. Monday and Tuesday had seen a full return to my crazy life style. Two days in full gear had not caused a change in diabetes control. The training schedule was to start again in full on Saturday.

Only it was to be the real thing first. Sharon's message was SEARCH. First thing Wednesday morning. I groaned at the thoughts of getting up so early. And my stomach said I was very nervous. Could I do it tomorrow??

At 5:15am I slapped that alarm and rolled over to some very sleepy Schips. "What are we doing Mom?? Its not even light yet."

After all the kennels chores, I showered and coated my legs with Skin So Soft. Chiggers still would love to make a nest on my ankles. And this time I would have to pay attention so I didn't get infections. I doubled the dose<G>. As I started to dress, all of the SAR Schips came to attention. THAT shirt means we get to go!! And as I took down the collars, I got mobbed. Fox and Magic. I had to fight my way through the others to tag the ones I wanted, each saying "Me Mom!"

I had loaded the Van the night before, paying close attention to special needs. One of the things I had gotten for my last trip to VA, was a Diabetic emergency bag. All of the things I might need, that would not be readily available in most stores. I tucked it away under the seat. Glucose tablets, Energy bars...with and without carbohydrates. Some to pump me up if I got too low, and some to keep me level if I got too high.

Sharon pulled in a full 20 minutes ahead of time. I still had to do a reading and have breakfast. Things had been moving so fast I was still fixing snacks and filling the cooler with necessary items. I hurried to get a reading, and at 90 I was well into the normal zone. I offered Sharon some breakfast of Yogurt and Fiber One. She too had joined me on the new low sugar diet and had already lost 15 pounds.

Loaded with equipment and dogs, we set off at 6:30am for the meeting with other members of the unit. It would be a long hour and a half to the search point. I was glad to have a shared ride with Sharon riding shotgun. I was as ready as I could make me, but very nervous about what the day might bring.

We met up with Ray and his dog Hunter He was the only one that could join us that day. We continued our drive. At 8:05 we pulled into their meeting point and discussed the missing man. Another 15 minutes and we arrived at the search site.  After a briefing, we discussed the way they wanted the search done, zones to cover and important info on who, what, and when.

An 82 year old Black Male. Missing three weeks. A walk away from a vehicle that was stuck way back in a rice field. It was thought he might have gotten stuck and tried to walk out. All of the surrounding areas needed to be cleared. A helicopter would be flying to check fields and zones we could not reach with dogs by foot. 4 wheelers would provide the back up and emergency transport should it be needed.

We decided to drive the Van to the far side of the field, and come into the wind. We would all spread out and walk across the harvested Rice field. It was not known when the field had been cut, that a man might have been lying down in the grain. I took the middle and Sharon with her larger Vizsla took the lower edge along the water line. Ray took Hunter and covered a small wooded zone in the middle and to follow the drainage ditch up to the next level near the bean fields. All of us could see the SUV sitting at the far north east edge of the field near the water.

Fox was so excited to be working and bound out ahead of me. The cool overcast day was perfect for his black coat and damaged eyes. Nothing seemed to bother him as he raced ahead and back several times. He disappeared under some rice chaff and back out the other side. Searching already.

The walk was tough. I had checked the blood level before starting, and was again pleased at a 94 reading. I had enough energy and nerves to keep me moving for awhile. Life was good.

Sharon and I met at the SUV to talk with the Sheriff. I had Fox check out the car and he scented on a old pair of gloves the had been sitting between the seats. RUF...grr ruf, he rumbled...and off he started to check all surrounding grass edges. First into the water...walking deeper and working the edges. He returned to shore and moved off into the wood edges...checking and moving steady. Nothing. But since he had gone into the water, I had Sharon go check with Pete in case any scent lingered on the vegetation. Pete too, came back to the wood edge.

I asked if they wanted the woodland zone cleared and received a yes in reply. Sharon took north side, I took south. I finally found an entrance that let me as well as Fox into the middle of the cluttered overgrowth. I struggled to find a passage, and soon had to go back into the next field and be satisfied with wood edges. It was just too overgrown to make headway inside the wooded zone. As the strip was no more than 30 feet wide, I sent Fox into each opening to check out the scent. I moved steadily into the rice field to the east.

My radio broke the silence. Ray had a change of behavior on his young border collie. Could I come over to his field as soon as I finished my wood edges? I was almost there, so I called into Sharon and rechecked positions. She would continue east along the wooded area of the rice fields.

Once out into the bean fields, Fox stopped short and checked the newly plowed earth. Sniff sniff, move forward, another brief check, and gone on to where they waited. All of the surrounding earth had, till last week, had a water cover. The region had 6" of drought busting rains in two days. The fresh mud and some lower spots were still covered in water. And of course the first thoughts in my head was Methane gasses. A young dog might not make a correct choice between decaying human and decaying vegetation. I was sure Hunter had picked up a trace, but had to double check it.

Ray and I continued to work that huge bean field. Walking the small dikes that channel irrigation waters along the crops. Fox often followed a bean row, popping up here and there to check my location. Soon we had worked ourselves back to the main dirt road. 

My radio spoke. "Hi Pat where are you now??" 
"Hi Sharon, I am on the main dirt tract,.. Ray is moving along the drainage on the south bean field. So, what's up and where are you now??"
"I found a bridge and wonder if they need this side of the road checked too. Can you go talk with the crew and find if someone can stop traffic for us to work the stream on both sides??"

I headed to the parked vehicles I could see about ¼ of a mile in the distance. Fox was checking all along the road edge as we worked east. At least I would be able to report all of the zone cleared that way. It was the same field I had just cleared the lower half of on the way over to join Ray and Hunter.

As I reported in, they called to check with the search manager. "Yes, we need it all cleared and I am sending a unit over there now." I called Sharon and asked if she needed Fox as back up. Yes. I headed that ¼ mile down the main paved road to the north. I worked both verges since there was no traffic. Fox and I had enjoyed cool water and carried another to Sharon and Pete. Although the day was still cool, it was still hard walking.

Once I got there, Sharon had already checked the stream on both sides of the bridge with Pete indicating human scent. Fox went straight to the edge and down into the water to look under the bridge, over to the opposite side to look under there too. He worked back up, over the road, and into the verge of the woods. Stopped by a deep and water filled ditch, I knew he too had human scent. But he was calm and easy, not that driven grr grr of a find.

After talking it out, Sharon and Pete would work the north side and Fox and I the south side of the wooded edge of the drainage ditches. I moved off into the north field and found a way into the woods. I was so surprised to find nothing to block our passage. It was completely covered in a canopy trees, but nothing as a ground cover. Fox had a clear zone to search. He could check from field line to slew, swampy back waters, and deposits of old flood debris. I moved off east and worked for 30 minutes in total quiet and peace. My radio broke the silence. Ray reported in...and Sharon gave me a report she could not get into the woods on her side and had cleared the edges.

Since I had gone so far and had completely cleared the water, we all agreed to return to the bridge. I stopped to take a Blood reading as it had been 2½ hours. It was 81 and fine. But I noted it was time to eat. Gosh where had the morning gone?

On meeting up we all compared notes. All of the outer zones had been cleared. I went to check the west side of the bridge all the way to the wood line where the SUV had been left. Nothing. Sharon had determined we had old bones. Probably hundreds of years old. We all walked back to the base camp to break for lunch. It was 11:30 and half the work had been done.

As soon as we had downed a bottle of water (nothing diet) and a sandwich, all of us went to change dogs. Fox was tired and so was Pete. I don't think anything can make Hunter tired! As we re-crossed the original field, we spread out to cover the zones not walked on the way into the search. Now all land within a 3/4 of a mile in all direction had been walked. I was beginning to tire. We had one more wooded section left to finish.

I decided we would drive the van over to the base camp so Fox and Pete could be watched. The temps had started to warm into the 70's now. Ray was to take his 4 wheeler and work the water edge further west along the rice field they were harvesting. He would keep in touch by radio as we were to search the other wooded section on the east side of the main paved road.

Once there, I had to stop for a local reporter. As I parked and unloaded Magic, we told of how we train SAR dogs and named off the breeds we had with us that day. Magic was being typical Magic and danced and walked on two legs. Patticaking and eager to be at work. I slipped a water bottle in my pocket and headed out to the woods with Sharon and her young Dobie, Taylor. I cleared a radio call to Ray and we entered the darker woods. A camera man followed and we took a second to give a few posed pictures. Once we released the young dogs, no camera could have captured the speed of going direct to work.

Taylor and Magic had never worked together before. And of course both had to try to outdo the other. Friendly competition.<G> But what a team. First we had Wooly and Bubba, both retired now. Then Fox and Pete. Now Magic and Taylor. The proof of good training is always willing to please, good searching dogs. Both zig-zagged from mid range to field line. Crossing the paths of the other, never stopping to play. Poetry in motion. It was a beautiful sight. I was so glad Sharon had the chance to watch Magic work. Mostly now we had level "B" dogs with us, but this time, just the best "A" levels we could produce.

Magic's range of search is much further out then Fox. Sometimes I lose sight of him completely. I tend to get a bit nervous when I can't hear his "bell" that he has on his collar. Although the woods were fairly open, I still called to him and kept him in sight. Sharon followed Taylor much the same. To much unknown here in dark tangled undergrowth. 

We worked steadily along the field line. Many times we stopped to wait on them working a scent. Each time they checked and moved on. In a large open area, they charged off to the left. I could see the wooded area was now narrow and we had to watch both sides as they opened into the fields. I followed Magic as he disappeared into the left hand rice field. He didn't come back.

As we slipped into the field, the dogs raced ahead checking along the edges. Stopping often, and moving alone down the length of the field. We stood and watched as the team cleared about 500 feet of edges. It was truly a wonderful sight to each of us. And once they reached the bend, turned and raced back to us.

Laughing, we each rewarded the return and moved back into the woods again. It was now time to head back to the base camp...we'd clear the north side as we returned. And once again we walked the middle and a zig-zagging team of well trained kids worked the pattern without help from us.

As we neared the main paved road, we called them in, placed leashes on the boys and proceeded along the main road. Curious stares followed as cars passed. Tired, slightly sore in muscle, we dragged into camp to give our reports. I moved off to test Blood levels. It sat at 97 and once again, even after food, I was in normal ranges. I was riding on an adrenalin high now.

I checked with Ray and he had about finished his zones. He too was headed in for a report. I gave Magic a run for fun...he was still overflowing with energy. He and Taylor re-checked the bean fields<G>.

All reports in, we loaded dogs and got ready for the trip home. I was tired but confident we had cleared the surrounding areas. There was no sign of the missing man. Had he walked to the road and gotten a ride? Seems a neighbor had seen someone walking that Friday and it might have been him. If this were the case, the missing gentleman could be anywhere in Arkansas or Tennessee areas. And as with most cases, we knew where he was NOT, but not where he was. At least this time we were working with a set of great guys that had worked with us before. And they took our comments seriously. This case was just too similar to the Mr. Noble case we worked last spring. Even in the same area, but different county.

The drive back was slow. I was so hungry and we decided to stop for a subway sandwich. I knew that was totally safe and never has a turkey sandwich been so enjoyed<G> And on the napkin, we drew and discussed the search and results. All agreed the dogs had been top of the mark, and we as handlers had done the job well. I thank my buddies for keeping me safe and both had marveled at my ability to keep up and do the job I had. It had not been an easy search with muddy fields and deep woods. But the feeling of a job well done lingered with us.

Home and unpack. Wash dogs who were caked with mud and maybe chemicals from the rice fields. Scrub our boots and then shower our bodies too. Another day done. Another search completed. Tired, I rested on the bench. "Check your reading.." Sharon asked. <G> She was leaving for home and just HAD to have one more check on me. I do love my friend. A nurse, a top search buddy and a very close friend. After the meal and the drive it was still only 112. A perfect ending to the reemergence of SARSchips. I was truly back at work. And loving every minute of it too.

My sincere thanks for all the help and love I have received from so many of you on the Schip Pet list. Without your belief and encouragement I couldn't have done it. Most will never know how sick I really was...I'll never tell<G>. What counts is how well I am now...and that, my special friends, is thanks to all of you!!!

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