Susan Bulanda

I have read hundreds of books about the Holocaust but this collection of stories from survivors about their pets is one aspect of the experience I had not considered. It's impossible not to be moved by these heartbreaking stories from these survivors (children at the time) who had to leave their beloved pets behind, most forever. These are short pieces that can be shared with a wide age range of readers who have some foundational knowledge of the Holocaust.

If you are interested in training your dog for Search and Rescue (SAR), this book would be very helpful. If you are just an arm-chair fan of SAR, and SAR dogs, I think you would enjoy the book as they seek to solve the mystery of where is the person. It was published in 1999, and I am sure for those signed up for training with NASAR there are lots of newer resources but even then, a good book.

This book is broken up by different kinds of search and Rescue. The searches range from missing show more person, possible murder, missing walker, missing child, suicides, plane crash, fire storm, Oklahoma City Bombing, Tornado, Lost Hunter, Drowning, and avalanche. Each search is often told from the Incident Commander or Search Leader version, and then with a version from the Dog handler. Those relating the search details were sent an outline with questions with the following headers and were used to organize each search:
• Mission Type
• The Victim
• Point Last Seen (PLS)
• Terrain Features
• Weather
• Special Dangers
• Any Other Special Information
• Search Personnel and Equipment
• Search Strategy
• Assign Resources
• Suspension
• Results of the Mission
• What are Your Feelings About the Mission?
• Additional Comments
• Search Tips
• Biography (of the person who submitted the information)

A lot of detail is given but there are so many interesting gems. I learned a lot of details including that search dogs often show a vague interest in marshes as all decomposing material gives off methane gas and sometimes a dog will hit on the methane gas. Dogs also may hit on a junked car if it was in an accident and blood is left in the vehicle. Below I will also include some other excerpts I particularly liked and will include what header it was under:

Point Last Seen
“The victim was last seen in the spillway from Lake Charleston into the Embarras River, which is in Coles County, Illinois. Four wrestling team members decided to slide down the spillway during a flood. Two drowned. One body washed out of the spillway the following day.”

“The following day the body was located where Maya had alerted. It was buried at a depth of 3.5 feet, wrapped in a blue plastic tarp, which someone had sealed with lots of duct tape. The snow depth was two to three inches, and the temperature was in the 20 degree Fahrenheit range.”

Search Tips
If you’re not sure if the dog has something or not, don’t ask it if it has anything. You may talk the dog into an alert. Let the dog make up its own mind.
Leave the area of greatest interest, search other areas or take a break, then bring the dog back in. Try to approach from another direction. Observe what your dog does without cueing from you; sometimes the dog will have no further interest in the area. – Marcia Koenig

Problems Encountered
“The first night it got very dark. I do not recommend working an avalanche in the dark, if just for the hazard reason. Even with headlamps, searching avalanches at night is a harrowing experience.”

“When my dog picked up scent he immediately left the main wash and took off up one of the 40’ ravine walls to head cross country. He had been working just ahead of us as we went northerly up the wash. He was not ranging any distance at all before he got scent. When my partner and I followed him and got to the top of the ridge, my dog was already at the bottom of the ravine and starting to climb up the next ridge. He paused to look back and see we were coming and then disappeared out of sight over the next ridge as we were working our way down. He repeated his behavior as we negotiated at least three ravines and ridges in this fashion. When he came again to the main wash he waited only long enough to make eye contact again before entering the narrow slot canyon where the subject was found.” – Susan Williams

What are your feelings about the mission?
“I was elated because this was Gus’ first live find and I feel the victim would have died if we didn’t find him. All of our training paid off. I’d always have believed that I’d be so proud because we (Gus and I) made the find and saved a life. What happened was just the opposite. I was humbled because I realized that we were just a tool. If it hadn’t been for the work of all of the other people on the search, we wouldn’t have been successful. If it hadn’t been for the deputy’s ongoing investigation and canvassing the neighborhood, they wouldn’t have found the neighbor who pointed us in the direction where the victim was found. I realized on that search that we, as the dog/handler team, don’t “walk on water,” everyone is important. A search is a team effort by everyone involved in the search. – David Hancock

When I initially heard a description of the search area and the scenario, I was certain this would be a wasted effort. I suspected there was very little we could do, given the huge size of the search area, rough terrain, terrible weather, age of the track (around 52 hours old), and the lack of resources. Clearly, I was wrong. I underestimated the ability of a trained SAR dog. – Deb Tirmenstein

Technical Notes
Again, it appeared that the location of the victim and the development of a scent cone of the ground. The airscent, being weather initially borne aloft, was picked up as it later descended at considerable distance from the victim by all of the dogs at one time or another. Fortunately, all handlers informed base camp by radio of the location of all of their alerts and noted them on their maps. The developing pattern over the two-and-a-half days eventually led to the victim.

Bombproof Alert
When searching for a victim that is out of sight, such as under rubble, water, or in darkness, the handler wants an indication from the dog that is unmistakable, or “bombproof.” However, occasionally you’ll be on a search where even the best trained dog will do the bombproof alert. This is where close observation of your dog’s body language can help you solve the problem. – Marcia Koenig

And a few more bits for fun:
What qualities are essentials for this type of dog? It takes focus, endurance, an ability to scent discriminate, and, some would say excessive drive. For me, Black Labs of working/field trail lines have proven to be very capable in this role. However, I know that many breeds of dogs would work just as well. It takes a dog that is tireless, with a boundless desire to please. The dog must be tough enough for the weather and terrain and just dumb enough to want to do this more than anything else in the world. – Deb Tirmenstein

In March 1999, Deb and Fergus were called to Lolo, Montana to search for “Melvin,” an older man with Alzheimer’s, disappeared. When they arrived at the search, there were people everywhere, everyone was frantic, and it was all very chaotic. Deb asked a deputy to drive them to where Melvin’s hat had been found earlier that morning. On the way to the hat, we spotted Melvin just standing by the road. They pulled over and he hopped in the car with us. Fergus believe she had “found” Melvin in the front seat of the police car and proceeded to slobber all over him. – Deb Tirmenstein

For more practical step by step instructions, I have her other book ‘Ready!: Training the Search and Rescue Dog’. Good reference guide, although if a person was really series they would want to be reading the ones assigned by NASAR, but for them, I would still imagine the more info the better, and definitely great who love to imagine training a dog and doing SAR work without all the work of actually doing it. I look forward to reading other books by her as well. show less

Great book that somehow slipped my mind to add to my ratings here in Goodreads. Step by step training information for search and rescue works, including training info on different types of rescue. Great book to have in your collection.
I know if you were serious about really doing SAR work, you would need to join a group, take the certifications and pass all the tests. But if you want to learn about the training they do, perhaps part train your dog in some way, this would be a great start, show more and maybe you would decide to the take the deeper plunge.
And if you want a great book about someone who does search and rescue, i would recommend 'So That Others May Live: Caroline Hebard & Her Search-And-Rescue Dogs.' She started when SAR work with dogs was just getting started, and has a lot of good training info from her experience as well as info on search's with results.
And since I am in a recommending mood, I would also recommend 'What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs.' Mostly about working her dog for cadaver work, still great about the science of scent work and a very interesting read. show less

Great book that somehow slipped my mind to add to my ratings here in Goodreads. Step by step training information for search and rescue works, including training info on different types of rescue. Great book to have in your collection.
I know if you were serious about really doing SAR work, you would need to join a group, take the certifications and pass all the tests. But if you want to learn about the training they do, perhaps part train your dog in some way, this would be a great start, show more and maybe you would decide to the take the deeper plunge.
And if you want a great book about someone who does search and rescue, i would recommend 'So That Others May Live: Caroline Hebard & Her Search-And-Rescue Dogs.' She started when SAR work with dogs was just getting started, and has a lot of good training info from her experience as well as info on search's with results.
And since I am in a recommending mood, I would also recommend 'What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs.' Mostly about working her dog for cadaver work, still great about the science of scent work and a very interesting read. show less