Mississippi Bound for NASAR

Sirius and I had the honor of being sent to this years National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) annual conference representing the American Rescue Dog Association (ARDA), which is our organization  (VSRDA is the Virginia unit of ARDA).  The neat thing about these annual conferences (besides being held in various parts of the country) is that you get to spend several days with fantastic people AND dogs.  The days are filled with very interesting lectures.  I got to bring Sirius on this trip, which was his first big travel involving airplanes, shuttle buses, hotel rooms, and to his delight, room service.  Having him there was awesome...he was such a great travel companion.  He helped break the ice in meeting people, guarded my room against evil doers in the hallways of the hotel, and sat patiently next to me in each lecture I attended.  This entry will be mostly about his adventure.

Woofin' the friendly skies...

...well, actually not "woofin"...Sirius was quiet as a mouse the entire time traveling to Mississippi.  He was such a hit that even the pilots came out after landing to meet him and get their picture with him.  Above is a photo of me taking a picture of a pilot with his camera and Sirius.

The dog that was and wasn't there

Traveling with a dog is very interesting.  Walking through the airport with a dog like Sirius gets lots of attention.  But he was so well mannered that sometimes people didn't see him if he wasn't moving.  One lady came over and sat next to us while we were waiting to board the plane and we engaged in some light conversation.  Sirius then sat up after a few minutes and she was startled and asked where did he come from.  I explained that he was always there right at my feet.  She was amazed she missed him and stated that if she had known he was there, she wouldn't have sat near me!  And after getting off the plane on one of the legs, people saw Sirius after debarking (no pun intended) and were amazed that there was a dog on the flight the whole time and that they never knew it.  They said they knew of the loud kids and babies onboard, but never heard a single woof or whine from Sirius!

Above is a video of Sirius during boarding

Other times Sirius drew LOTS of attention.  You can easily separate the dog people from the non-dog people by their reactions.  Those that loved Sirius would stop in their tracks and watch him go by.  I'd hear out of the side of my ear "Look at that beautiful dog!".  Some would go out of their way to come over and meet him.  Even the pilots would learn he was on board and rush out of the cabin after landing to meet him.  Flight attendants made sure to offer him ice or water before they offered anyone anything else.  Sirius was just bummed they didn't serve Milk-bones on the flight!  One Air Force service member came over and sat near us waiting for one flight.  We were talking for a bit about dogs and Sirius' training.  She was on her way leaving home for duty somewhere far.  What amazed me was she thanked ME for what I was doing with volunteer search and rescue.  I was floored and taken aback that a military soldier would thank ME because I'm usually the first to thank THEM for all that they do.  The last bit of attention we got was going through one of the security check points.  Here is where obedience training comes in very handy.  I couldn't go through the metal detector with Sirius, nor could I let him go through with his collar and leash.  So I had to put him in a "down" and go through alone...then I would call to him to "come" and have him go through the detector.  One time he was simply frisked by hand, but the last time was very interesting.  Even though neither of us beeped going through, they decided they wanted a closer look.  They had Sirius and I go into a glass room and wait to be escorted to the side for further examination.  They frisked him again, but also myself.  They used the wand on both of us even.  They also checked my boots and camera for explosive residue by swabbing them and putting the swabs in an analyzer.  They looked through every single thing I was bringing on board, even thumbing through my book "K9 Heroes"!  It was a funny moment when they looked at Sirius' leather tug toy with strapping attached and they couldn't figure out what it was.  Sirius was looking at it like he was about to pounce on it for a nice bit of tugging, which would have been bad!  The screeners were very friendly asking all about Sirius and the volunteer work I do and also thanked me for what I did.  They said that us coming through that morning made their day which was nice to hear.  I was sure to thank THEM for helping keep all us travelers safe.

Sirius napping in class.

Sirius was great in the lectures.  The main part of the conference involved the entire group regardless of what track people were in.  When we were all together, if there was clapping involved, that would get Sirius excited...he knows what clapping is from his many demonstrations and when he hears it he thinks he's done something good and gets excited.  But any other time, he simply lay there and would take naps.  When we broke up into our specific tracks (we were obviously in the SAR Dog Track),  there would be about twenty people in the rooms along with about six or seven other dogs.  At first, Sirius couldn't understand why he couldn't meet every dog he saw from a distance and got upset that he was being asked to just stay there calmly.  But after a while, he learned the drill and settled in.  Soon he was napping away in each lecture.  Occasionally he'd let out his trademarked Grumble which he produces when he was bored or trying to get comfortable.  This always was good for getting lots of smiles from those that heard him.  He'd also at times wake up and see what was going on, or move to another end of his leash to meet someone sitting near me.  I wouldn't be able to rely on him for any answers or notes as he slept in class almost as much as I did through high school!

Sirius at the Tunica Hotel

I had brought Hero to five NASAR conferences in the past.  It was nice to see people from those years remember and ask about him, and it was also nice to be able to introduce them now to Sirius.

Meet Sirius Black

This handsome gentleman is Sirius Black, the dog which this blog is named after.  He is a 2 yo German shepherd.  A lot of people think he's something else, maybe along the lines of a black lab.  But German shepherds can be all white and all black in addition to the more common black and tan coloring.

K-9 Sirius Black

This post will be about the story of how I came upon young Sirius.  He didn't come to me grown,  but rather a size so little that it was easy to just carry him in your arms.  His first SAR vest was a size small, and even that was baggy on him.  But he quickly outgrew it.

A small Sirius in his small vest shortly after I got him

The plan with search and rescue was that I was going to work Hero until he retired and then retire from it myself as well.  I was expecting him to continue working until he was between 10 and 12 years old (the later years just doing water recovery work) and have a nice easy transition.  I figured that after he was done, he could have the nice life relaxing at home and I'd have time to spend on things that had otherwise been taken up with SAR.  But with his untimely (and quick) death before he even reached the age of nine canceled all those plans.  I was not thinking I'd be stopping volunteer SAR so soon, but I wasn't thinking I'd run out and get another dog to continue on either.  I was at a crossroad...End SAR earlier than I thought, or continue on with another dog.

One of my team mates took my fiance and I out to dinner shortly after our loss, and I was explaining my thoughts about all this.  I did say that if I did end up getting another dog to continue SAR, it would have to look nothing like Hero, so would get an all black one.  We then added to the conversation that we should name such a dog "Sirius Black" after the Harry Potter character.

Sirius about to do a runaway with a recall/refind indication

Well the next day, my same team mate had me go out to Colonial K9 with her to scout out an area for our teams agility course to be built.  After parking we walked across the lot in the direction where the course would likely be built and low and behold, off to my left was a pen set up outside in the shade filled with lots of little black German shepherd puppies.  I steered over to take a look at them and quickly sized them all up.  I seperated the males from the females, seperated the obnoxioius barkers from the quiet ones, seperated the curious from the non-caring, and made eyecontact with them all.  One stood out that I was interested in.  We pulled him out of the group to see how he liked people..he loved us...we threw a ball and engaged him in play...he liked to play...he seemed perfect!  He even had a hunter orange string around his neck for his identifying color...truly a sign!

Sirius runs to the hiding person after being given the "find" command.

I left him there that day questioning if it was too soon to get another dog.  Another team mate in attendance gave these words of wisdom, "It can never be too soon, but it can be too long" before we all left.  I returned the next day with my fiance and her and I took him for a little stroll around the property.  We were very impressed that for his little size he was keeping up with us on some steep embankments...he really wanted to stay with us.  He did not care whatsoever about leaving the pen filled with all the other pups behind...he liked being free of them and hanging with us.  We "borrowed" him and took him to the shore of Leesylvania (where Hero was put down) to see if there would be some sort of sign maybe that we should take this new bundle of fur.  We feel close to Hero there, and we felt that it was right to take young Sirius and make him ours.

Since then, Sirius as grown to be a fantastic dog.  He's smart, funny, and a happy go lucky kind of dog.  He just wants to be with his people.  He loves his work as a search and rescue dog.  He has his own nicknames, such as the Stealth Bomber, the Ninja, and Cereal.  He's building his reputation and making his mark.  Heck, he has his own Facebook page, team Trading Cards, and even his own team email!  Looking back on it, we're believing that I was "set up", and that my team mate knew there was a litter of little black GSD's at Colonial K9, and that's why I was asked to go the next day there with her...but she has never admitted it to this day!

Sirius has found the person and returned to me performing

his "jump" indication to say he's found them.

The original plan for search and rescue was that I at least do it for ten years, which was up last October, and if Sirius didn't seem to take to it or enjoy it, then I would call it quits and decide what to do next.  But if he were to really take off with it and in a sense decide himself that he likes it, I would keep doing it for as long as he liked.  Search and rescue has become fun for me again (after two years of staring at a crossroad), and our team has lots of good people and dogs that make it all that much more easier to keep coming out to trainings for, but what really is keeping me in the game is a great dog named Sirius Black.

My Job Keeps Me Young

Before I start making entries all about dogs, which is one of my favorite things to talk about, some more detail must be given to what PAYS for all my dog activities...my job.  Of course you'll see that I won't be able to get away without mentioning dogs in this entry, but I'll limit myself.

I have worked in the field of recreation and in particular aquatics for my entire working life.  When it got time to picking out a job at the ripe age of 15 I had my choice between working in a warehouse or as a lifeguard.  These were the two highest paying jobs at the time where I lived, which was in Yokosuka, Japan, and money was all I was motivated by at first.  I ended up choosing to go with the lifeguarding, and took my first course at the Green Beach outdoor pool in freezing water.  Once certifed, I worked as a lifeguard at the Officers Club and Green Beach pools.  Having just turned 16, I was one of the "newbies", so learned the fine art of scrubbing scum lines, vacuuming the pool, and mopping up locker rooms, which was all a shock to me.  I thought I was just going to sit there and get a tan!  There was some actual lifeguarding involved as well, but I never made a rescue while there.  I did learn that it was very hard to enforce rules with your friends and even harder with the school thugs!

From Japan I moved to Illinois and quickly took up the same profession.  Working at an indoor pool, an outdoor pool and two beaches on the lake front for the next five years I learned so much more.  I learned about how tight knit a staff can become.  There was the inter-staff dating, drama, and bonding that happens that was all new to me.  I was thinking I was just going to be showing up for a job, but it quickly turned out to be my life even after I was off the clock.  My co-workers were my friends on and off duty.  While working, I started making my first rescues of non-swimming adults, drunken sailors, left alone kids, and the like.  I became an Aquatic Instructor and Head Lifeguard there, and they were the best years of my lifeguarding experience.

After Illinois, I kept up with the tradition of working around pools by lifeguarding at three pools in Hawaii.  One of them (the Sub base pool) was the one that I learned how to swim in as a little keiki!  I was homeless in Hawaii for ten days (long story), and believe me, working at a pool has its advantages...there were showers, a nice soft First Aid cot to sleep on, and shelter.  I was able to get away with staying over night a few times without being caught, but eventually I had to move back into my car after my boss caught me.  He did actually help however by finding me a bedroom to rent from a friend of his...thanks for that Tommy!

When Hawaii got too expensive to live there, and I felt I wanted to be back on the mainland, I moved to Virginia and again took up the red shorts and whistle lifeguarding at an indoor pool.  That was back in 1991, and to this day I still work for the same agency.  Somewhere along the way I rose through the ranks of Head Guard, Pool Manager, Aquatic Programmer, and Aquatics Supervisor.  I still get in the guard stand every so often, but it's only when a lifeguard is late or calls out.  I met my fiance at one of the pools...she was a customer and I was the typical lifeguard asking for a phone number.  Now I oversee an Olympic sized year round swimming pool with a staff of about 20 guards and 25 swim instructors.  The job is very cool.  I love not being stuck behind a desk my full shift.  I can walk around, check on things, and talk to staff and public.  My job is also VERY supportive of my volunteer search and rescue work.  They allow me to leave for searches (10 days in New Orleans after Katrina with short notice and countless 1-2 day searches in and around the Virginia area) and to adjust my schedule for trainings and conferences.  They even allow me to bring my dog to work on occasion.

Sirius and I have given numerous demonstrations and lectures to the camp kids during the summers.    And if we're having a staff BBQ, both Hero and now Sirius are right there begging for burgers!

My job also lets me put on Dog Swim days where I let the public bring in their dogs for a swim while the pool is draining for maintenence and cleaning every other year.  And Hero and Sirius love swimming in the pool!

The staff is great.  The guards keep me young.  The drama they bring takes me back to the drama we had when I was sixteen years old...and makes me smile.  I don't get upset because I used to get away with much more, caused much more, and was way worse than any of them ever are or they could ever hope to get away with.  There is much more accountability nowdays.  More oversight, and more strictness....which the importance of the job needs.  So I try to allow them fun so long as people are safe in the water that they watch.  Keeping people alive is top of the list...they have the single most important job in the facility...no one else has anyones lives in their hands as they do at this moment.  But I want them to feel that this job was one of their funest, coolest jobs they had when starting out in the work force.

A Tribute to Hero

A portrait of Hero kindly donated by artist

Liz van der Werff Winchenbach

http://dailypaintingbyliz.blogspot.com/

My first search and rescue (SAR) dog was named Hero.  I worked him for eight years.  He had an untimely death due to cancer at the age of eight.  He was a fabulous dog with a great personality and strong presence.  You could look at him and just see the majesty in him...he just looked like a dog with an important job to do, which he did.  He was was certified in wilderness air-scent and water recovery.  Much about him can be found here, so I thought I'd share some humorous information in this blog.

Once while walking in D.C. with Hero in his SAR vest, some kids saw him from behind me and I overheard one ask another "Look at that dog..  I bet he's smart"...another kid said "how can you tell that?"...to which the first replied, "He's wearing CLOTHES...he has to be smart!"

Hero being made an honorary Cub Scout

Hero did many demonstrations in his time, but usually only once per place or group.  But he did several demos to one Cub Scout Troop in particular in Alexandria.  He kept getting invited back and on his last visit there they made him an honorary Cub Scout complete with a neckerchief and certificate.  I would have thought they would have given him the rank of Wolf Scout, but they gave him the highest Cub Scout rank of Bear.

Before I took Hero on his first plane trip where he would ride in the cabin at my feet, I wanted to test to see how he'd do being in a confined space, with loud noises, and lots of people.  So I took him to the movies!  We saw Scooby Doo.  And of course when part two came out, even though I didn't have a reason, I still had to bring him to see it as well.

Hero

Mar 18th, 1999 ~ Feb 10th, 2008

He had NUMEROUS nicknames.  Some made sense, like "H" or "Ears" (for obvious reasons), but others were not so much: "Pumpkin" being one in particular that I forbad my fiance from ever calling him in public.

Hero got to meet actor Ben Jones who played Cooter on the old Dukes of Hazzard TV show (Click Here).  Ben liked Hero so much, he actually let Hero sit in the General Lee car for a photo op!

Hero & I at the Pyrite Mine overlook in Prince William Forest