Thank you to those that have continued to take an interest in Sirius' (and my) life as we've transitioned into SAR retirement and have been following our posts, adventures, and thoughts on my new private blog.  If you haven't gotten the invite link to that and would like it, message me! D&S

Retired - Last Post

Sirius' first walk as a civilian

TIME TO GO

When looking at when a search and rescue dog retires, it's usually when the dogs body is no longer able but the mind is very much still willing.  That can also be the case with the handlers that face the same decision.  And on the flip side, just like a dog that is no longer interested, yet physically able to, gets pulled from training, a handler no longer motivated must also go.  That was the decision I made for Sirius and I on July 11, 2013.

DRAGGING MYSELF
It was certainly not a quick decision.  I'd been thinking about it for a long time now.  After Hero died in 2008 that's when it started.  But I had set a goal to do volunteer search and rescue for ten years and I hadn't reached that with him, having only done eight.  So I got another dog, Sirius Black, which committed me to his time span.  And now facing my fourteenth year, and dragging myself these last few, I wasn't really looking forward to it.   The many hours and searches had taken it's toll on my relationship.  My job questioned how dedicated I was to SAR compared to it.  Tons of money was spent.  And work around the house was being neglected.

Don't worry Sirius, your
new life won't be as slow
as this turtles

OBLIGATIONS
I had obligations to the team; too many to list it seemed.  And I had an even greater obligation to the missing person which I would be searching for.  Having a qualified search dog that was very good at what he did was a resource I didn't want to keep from a response if able to.

THE FUN STOPPED
But with personal issues over the last year on the relationship front, and a promotion at work at the same time, I did not attend trainings as much as I could have and should have.  And I was not motivated to hop in my car to travel three hours away to a search.  My mind was no longer on search and rescue.  What I used to be very enthusiastic about was becoming an nuisance.  Basically when the fun stops, it's time to go.

SIRIUS WILL GO ON
I feel bad that Sirius won't be doing something that he was great at, especially since he's still able to with both mind and body.  But he'll have fun doing other things because his love of life and people was not limited to just search and rescue.


LOOKING BACK
I documented:
13 years (8 Hero / 5 Sirius)
1 person found (deceased) with Hero
4,661 volunteer hours (2,585 Hero / 2,076 Sirius)
68,328 miles driven (47,829 Hero / 20,499 Sirius)
63 searches responded to (43 Hero / 20 Sirius)
99 demonstrations (57 Hero / 42 Sirius)

Sirius still loves to range out and explore

Pavlov's Search and Rescue Dog

Every so often I'm watching a TV show and someone will have one of those old Alpha-numeric pagers that go off for some reason or another.  Beep-beep, Beep-beep, Beep-beep...hearing that always reminds me of the numerous years that I carried one of my teams call out pagers.  Back before cell phones with text and email alerts, I had to carry a pager on my belt the size of a cigarette pack (so it seemed to me).  That, with my work pager, and my cell phone and sometimes my multipurpose tool/knife, I felt sort of like Batman!  I was very happy the day that we were able to reconfigure our teams search call out notifications in regards to searches and have the alerts come through to our cell phones/email and I could say goodbye to the pager.

But just because it was gone, it was not forgotten.  One other in my household that remembers those middle of the night pages is my dog, Sirius!  While I'm watching the TV and some important persons pager goes off, Sirius wakes from a deep sleep and gets up expecting me to jump up as well and start the whole process of phone calls and packing up to hit the road for a search.  If he's in another room than I'm watching in he'll come running to make sure I'm getting up.

Maybe one day he'll forget about this sound, but for now he's ready even in his sleep to go to work.

First Dog

I'm thinking that since I'm the President of my search and rescue team, that makes Sirius "First Dog"...LOL!

What Does It Cost?

I was just asked the question, "From starting at zero to the point of becoming certified with your dog, how much did it cost?".  That's a good question.  Even the asker of the question knew there were lots of variables, and of course everyone manages their money differently, but I knew I was able to have an answer for myself anyway because I keep track of that kind of information.

The answer for me was:

$20,000.00


That's a nice, neat, sum of an answer...but let me show you how I got to that figure.

I went with my first dog, Hero, because that was truly starting from zero.  I did not own boots, a compass, a map case, backpack, helmet, flashlight or any other type of personal gear.  I also did not own a dog crate for the house or one for the car.  Nor did I own anything for my dog, such as a harness, vest, lead, toys, and collar.  Heck, I did not even own a dog when I first came out to the team.

I did not include the cost of Hero himself, which I got specifically to do search and rescue work with, because dogs can come in as many different costs as they do breeds.  From free all the way up to several thousand dollars.

Time Period:  October 1999 to October 2003 (when he became certified) - 4 years

• $4,410* in Gas for the 23,519 miles driven to training, demos, and seven searches that I attended as a K9 Escort "aka Walker" with another handler working thier dog. (*Estimating by taking the actual miles driven and dividing it by my vehicles 16 mpg and multiplying it by an average $3 per gallon of gas cost) / Average of $92 per month.
• $2,128 for Supplies (dog brushes, bedding, crates, bowls, nail clippers, etc.) / Average of $44 per month.
• $671 for Toys (balls, Frisbees, tugs, plush, etc.) / Average of $14 per month.
• $1,876 for Food / Average of $40 per month.
• $5,559 for Vet bills & tick and heartworm preventives / Average of $116 per month.
• $6,086 for SAR (my gear – boots, pack, compass, uniforms, team dues, classes/conferences, books, etc.) / Average of $127 per month.

Total Cost: $20,730 / Average of $432 per month.

Remember there are many variables...some can train more often and certify in a faster time.  Others have dogs with lots of vet bills while others (the lucky ones) have hardly any.  And of course there is a huge range in costs for food depending on the diet that you feed your dog.  And again, these are just my numbers.  I'd love to hear if you are in my ballpark, or come in well above or under what it took me, but otherwise, any time someone asks me again, I'll simply say "It'll cost you $20K"

(P.S.  On a side note, this did not count towards the cost, but if you were interested in TIME, I volunteered 1,278 hours towards trainings, demonstrations, and seven searches that I attended as a K9 Escort before becoming certified / 27 hours a week.

At the end of the day, the rewards I get in return such as the feeling I get working with my dog in the outdoors volunteering my time and helping people is: PRICELESS.

What's In A Pack?

Volunteer K9 SAR handlers usually carry on average about 25 lbs of gear in their packs.  Some members pride themselves on streamlining their packs into a compact, slim, and extremely light set up by buying lightweight materials and finding items that can serve multiple uses.  These packs are usually very organized with everything in color coded stuff sacks and filling every possible nook and cranny in their packs.  Others tend to not worry so much about the end result of weight and organization.  These members tend to look like beasts of burden with their large packs and if they plan to spend several weeks out in the field.

Everyone has their favorite item that they keep in their pack.  Something that is either super light, or so ingenious, or amazingly versatile that they have to show it off whenever they get the chance.  For me, it is my little four-sectioned pencil case.  It easily holds all those little items and keeps them in a way that everything can be easily seen and gotten too.  It holds my aspirin, a space blanket, spare shoelaces, spare light bulbs, a little pocket knife, sunscreen, spare whistle, a few commonly used first aid items, parachute cord, and so much more.

This pack item is easily gotten to without me even having to take off my pack.

Added to the weight of a pack would be enough water for both you AND your dog!  This may be considered one of the more important items that you bring out into the field, however, to your dog, the SINGLE most important item...

...their reward toy!

Mission to Peru

Search Mission to Peru

Here I was at the airport in Miami…waiting to board my last flight home.  A series of three flights to get from Arequipa, Peru to Washington Dulles, Virginia.  I was thinking what more could go wrong.  The flight was delayed due to the flight crew not being on hand, the air-conditioning in that section of the airport had been broken, and we had just had a seven hour layover.  To make matters worse, a six year old child had been running amok without parental control and prodding our dogs into some sort of reaction.  At the last straw, while standing in line to show my ticket, I turned just in time to see the boy swing his jacket at Sirius hitting him in the head.  I yelled for the kid to stop and glared at the dad in such a way that I hoped he thought I was an murderer and either I or my dog would eat his kid for the on-board snack if we could.  Yes, what more could go worse?  A lot.  But before I get to that, let’s start at the beginning…

While at a water training seminar in Texas, I got an email about the possibility of going on a search in Peru for a missing student.  The name of the individual was Ciro Roja Castillo, a 26 year old student at the forestry university.  He and his friend, Rosario, had gone hiking from Madrigal to Tapay in the Colca Valley area and gotten lost.  The story told to us was that the two were together, and early on in the hike, they were careless and lost their food and two tents.  They encountered bad weather up above the 4,500 meter elevation level and left the trail to get lower.  They ended up getting lost.  Rosario was able to send out a few text messages saying they were lost, but her phone died.  After some time, Rosario could not continue on, and Ciro left her having seen a light in the distance and going towards it for help.  After a few days of his not coming back with help, she decided to try to make it down and out of the mountain herself.  She was found after having been lost for nine days, alive, but in rough shape.  She could not offer any clues to where Ciro was.  Just as with any search, there is much speculation about what could have happened.  Rosario was under duress when she was first found and any statements made can be attributed to shock.  She had obviously been on her own for four days and was in such bad condition, was found crawling down the mountain.  She herself was not that experienced, but Ciro is.  He knows the trails and has survival skills, knowing what kinds of cactus could be eaten, how to secure water, and to find shelter in any number of caves.

The search has been driven by the commitment of Ciro’s family to find him alive.  The Peruvian Army, the Policia High Mountain Rescue Team, and the BUSF (Los Bomberos, an international fire/rescue USAR team that operates in Peru from support in Spain) were the main search resources.  Using helicopters, hiking trails, inspecting caves, and scouring the mountain side were being done using mixed groups of those listed above.  The one thing they did not have use of were wilderness search dogs.

We were contacted by a gentleman named Alon, who offered to assist in securing resources for the search to the family, and in particular right now the use of air-scent search dogs.  He found our organization, the American Rescue Dog Association, and made contact.  This is when I got word about the search.  At first hesitant about it, I learned that the goal was to send three dog teams to Peru.  The description we got was:

"Fly to Lima, then fly to Arequipa (1.5 hours), then drive to the town of Chivay (3 hours), spend one day acclimating to the environment, then driving 1 hour to Madigral, then hike three hours to base camp and the search area.”…

That in itself did not sound too difficult.  So I agreed to go, and made plans to be gone for one more week.  Work was fine with this, although not entirely happy.  The plan at this point was that I would return from Texas on Monday, and we’d turn right around and fly out on Tuesday.  The other two teams going with me were Kellee Milheim and Kairos from Search and Rescue Dogs of Maryland and Lisa Kakavas and Zildjian of Mason Dixon Search Dogs, both ARDA units.  A press release was sent out.  Click here.

Once home, I packed and got ready, however there were delays in securing the tickets.  There were so many hoops to jump through, such as:

• Getting an International Health Certificate for bringing the dogs into Peru.  The Peruvian government waived the requirement of getting a USDA stamp on the paperwork, which saved a long trip to Richmond, and which can only be gotten via appointment.  They also waived the quarantine of the dogs coming in.

• Securing the approval of the Peruvian airlines to allow the dogs to fly in-cabin rather than crated in the planes cargo area.

• Lining up transportation, hotels and lodging, points of contact, etc.

All this caused a one day delay, so that we ended up not going until Wednesday.  The first sign of things to come was that the plane tickets were paid for and we were told that the trip was for just about two weeks rather than one week.  If we got there and made a find early, that would be great and we could turn around sooner.  If not, then we had a little more time on station.  But work had not approved such a long trip, and the tickets were already secured.  That meant some more begging to the bosses after they already allowed me to take off for a week for the water training in Texas.

I called work and explained the issue and they allowed me to take the extra time to my surprise.  My work has always been very supportive of the search efforts I commit myself to, and I thank my bosses very much for that.  I promised to come back and work early if my return was sooner than I planned.

The next step was packing.  I had barely managed to pack what I needed, but now needed food for an additional five days.  My normal duffle bag was not going to cut it.  Lori and I ran to Quantico Tactical at Potomac Mills and I was able to find the biggest deployment bag ever.  Made by 5.11, it could easily hold my other bag, plus so much more.  Things I was planning on bringing were: Sleeping bag, search pack, helmet, flash lights, GPS, two pair of hiking boots, batteries, enough clothes for the two weeks, and of course all the food Sirius would need.  Sirius’ food was by far the most heavy part of the bag once packed.  It was some consolation, as it always is on trips with him, that the return would be with a bag much lighter him having eaten all the food.

With passport, bags, and Sirius in hand, Lori took me to Dulles Airport Wednesday morning and dropped me off.  I met up with Lisa, Kellee, and their dogs, and we were processed through the airport.  Airline trips in themselves are always a process.  There’s the explaining about the dogs, there’s the answering questions about the dogs and where they are going, there’s the posing for pictures with people, and always being concerned that you hoped that you gave them ample opportunity to go to the bathroom before leaving.

First Class is GREAT!

 I boarded the first plane (the first of six that we would need to take to get there and back again) and things were going off with a fantastic start.  The flight crew were definite dog lovers, and they wanted to pose with Sirius before they themselves boarded the plane.  Then they thought that it would be good if we could board before any other passengers to allow us time to sit down and get settled.  That in itself was great.  But they continued to do better.  Before taking off, they found that there were plenty of open seats up in First Class.  So each of us got to move up to that section and have three seats to ourselves.  Sirius and I were in the very first row, which meant not only was there tons of leg room, but even that much more because of the bulkhead.  We were pampered with things like a choice of two foods, drinks being served in an actual glass rather than a plastic cup, cloth napkins, steel utensils rather than plastic, food on a plate, an appetizer of mixed nuts, and a piping hot towel to dab on the face and wipe the hands.  We were offered fine liqueurs for desert, but we couldn’t take them up on that being in uniform.  I sat across the isle from a very pleasant gentleman who was clearly a world traveler and quite used to the First Class section of the plane.  I discreetly watched him for things like how to open up my tray table and enjoyed talking to him about dogs and traveling.  He had his picture taken with Sirius and they hit it off.  One thing I learned about First Class that I had never known was that it is so quiet up there (being away from the wings and engines) that having a nice quiet conversation is very possible.  I’m so used to being in the back and yelling at the person next to me!

The flight from Miami to Lima was not to be the same.  A very full flight meant that I was on an isle seat with two people next to me.  It was so packed it was stressful.  Sirius had flown from Texas in a tight spot, but this was to be a six hour flight.  As well, the flight crew could care less about us, our dogs, or even their own jobs.  I observed one employee practically enjoying giving attitude to the fliers, including myself when I asked if it was a full flight.  After boarding, they at least moved the person right next to me to another seat to allow Sirius a little more floor space…

The Peru Crew

Flying into Lima really set the tone.  We started finding out that everyone knew about the story of Ciro and Rosario being lost, and others even knew of our pending arrival.  The minute we got off the plane, we were greeted by assigned airline persons who walked us through customs and the process for paying the animal fees, etc.  We exited the arrival area and were instantly descended upon by the press.  There were cameras flashing and recording, microphones being pushed in front of us, and lots of people cheering and clapping.  They definitely knew we were coming.  After a few brief words we were put into a large van and pulled away from the airport with people peering into the van windows and knocking on the glass and giving thumbs up to all of us.

We were driven to a private residence that belonged to the parents of one of Ciro’s friends, a lovely young girl who loved all our dogs.  While in their house, we were treated extremely well.  Although very late (midnight), a dinner of Peruvian chicken was delivered.  There were quite a few people in the house, including our main contact, Alon.  I asked who they all were, and learned that the missing persons mother and son were there.  I greeted Ciro’s mom and brother and told them that we would try our best to find him.  They were very nice people and I could only imagine what they were going through.  They had high hopes for our dogs, even though they didn’t really understand exactly how they work.  The family was trying to inflate a blow up bed for me to sleep on in the living room, but I told them that the couch would be more than perfect as we had to wake up in three and a half hours anyway.

Thursday, 4/27/11

Morning came way too soon.  Being in a strange place, wired, and excited all at the same time, I only got two hours sleep.  There was no time to shower, and after drinking some Coke, we repacked the van and headed out to the airport to take our next flight (1 ½ hours) to Arequipa.  This whole time, Sirius had been doing extremely well meeting people, being pushed into tight spaces, getting no rest, and having his food schedule completely messed up.

At the airport again, the mother of Ciro and his brother waited with us for our flight.  They bought us breakfast, and the mother made a point to go around to each of the dogs to pet them and wish them luck.  She placed her fingers to her forehead and then to the dogs forehead repeatedly, speaking something I couldn’t quite hear, but took to be wishing the dog speed in finding her son.  The Sky Peru flight was great.  The employees and flight crew was top notch, providing exceptional service.  They allowed us to board first at the very back of the plane before allowing other passengers on.  We each had our own three seats again.  It was funny in that they obviously were not used to having dogs in cabin, so they came back and sprayed some air freshener around us!  But they were otherwise great!

Right before landing in Arequipa, looking out the window showed the ruggedness of the land.  Deep valleys and tall mountains could be seen everywhere.  We landed, and were greeted again by private escort and press.  We were again put into a van and all our luggage put in a pick up of a member of BUSF.  Our first mistake made in country was made right now.  We were told of our itinerary, which was to go directly to the town of Chivay and get our hotel room, stock up supplies, and acclimate to the environment.  We were tired and extremely wanting to get to the hotel and didn’t want o change plans.  With Reth of the BUSF wanting us to do one thing, and Alon on the phone directing us to do another thing, we felt lost ourselves.  When Reth said we could drive twenty minutes to his station to brief us on what is going on with the search, we declined saying it wasn’t part of the approved schedule that was determined before our arrival.  We did not really know him and didn’t want to get side tracked.  Had we gone with Reth and his team, we would have gotten an early indication of what we were really going to be up against.  Instead we found out later.

Driving to Chivay was the deal that sealed it for me.  We were in a different land, in different terrain and different people.  The van was winding its way through sharp turns with cliff drops to the side.  The road was lined with crosses and memorials of those that have rolled off the road to their deaths below.  Click here  for a story of a tour bus that made such a spill!  Up and up and up we went.  We looked at the cactus, llamas, sheep, cows, and dessert before a backdrop of snowcapped mountains and volcanoes.  Our contact at this point, and translator, was Jessica.  We asked her about the wildlife and history of the area during the three hour drive.  At one point we had to go to the bathroom, so we pulled over at the highest point of the drive.  Where we had left the humidity of Lima behind, and the decent temperatures of Arequipa, we were instantly hit with a high altitude coldness complete with a much lower oxygen level.  We had been feeling okay in the van, but the minute we jumped out of it, we almost fell flat on our faces with dizziness and wicked headaches.  The bathrooms were two little huts up on the hillside.  Stone walled and thatched roofs, the small circular huts contained a wooden floor with a hole cut into it that waste would go down into the pit underneath.

We arrived in the town of Chivay.  If ever I go back there, that is the place I’d like to see again.  It is nestled down in a valley and as charming as can be.  In Chivay, the people are more traditional with the attire and customs.  We were again met by the press, and Kellee, bless her heart, was our team’s spokesperson.  In town, there were tons of street dogs that acted like they owned the place.  Some would come up to Sirius curiously and just amicably exchange sniffs, while others would rush him from behind while I was walking him.  Sirius quickly learned to look over his shoulder when walking the streets of Chivay.  After checking into the hotel, which was an excellent establishment, I felt a little better.  It had a private courtyard that was secured from the streets outside by sturdy gates, and rooms with nice bathrooms and choice of four beds to pick from.  I was still very dizzy and felt winded just moving my bags inside.  I fed Sirius and then took a walk around town.  The press would spot me and follow along filming Sirius sniff things to pee on, and ask a few questions.  But me not speaking much Spanish could not offer them much information.  The town had a central square where there were tons of people doing music, speaking, and hanging out.  Adjacent to the square was a large beautiful church that had two giant posters of Ciro on them stating he was missing in the area.  Around the courtyard were stores, restaurants, police station, a bank, the High Mountain Rescue Team office, and hostels.

The High Mountain Rescue Police team.

We ended the day with a meeting with the Police High Mountain Rescue Team and met Ciro’s father and sister.  We got a look at a hand drawn map of the search area and efforts so far, which were quite extensive.  We then had another meeting with the BUSF members in the hotels restaurant, where we saw Google Earth maps and tracks.  We developed high probability areas and thought of two main circumstances that could have happened.  The first was that Ciro left Rosario and went to the peak of the mountain, got hurt, and is now deceased under the snow cap.  If that is the case, he may be stumbled upon in the Spring (October) when the snow melts back.  The other is that he hurt himself between where the backpacks were found and the town of Tapay, which is where they wanted to go in the first place.  Another option was that he turned around and headed down towards where Rosario was found but fell into a crevice.  It seemed doubtful that Ciro could still be alive, it being 25 days now since his going lost.  Reth even said that in the meeting it was the first time that the father seemed to concede the idea that he could be dead.  I was again amazed at the drive Ciro’s father had in pushing for the continued search operations.  He had attended the meeting with the police and us, and now the BUSF and us.  He was involved at all levels of the search effort and making critical decisions.  At this meeting in the dining area, we got our first big “OH oh!” in learning that it was a three hour hike to BASE, and then another SIX hour hike to where they back packs were found.  And that nine hour hike was for people that were used to that altitude and conditions.  For us, we were looking at a twelve hour hike in.  Knowing that we could not make that without expending the bulk of our energy (and possibly getting hurt on the way), we explored other options.  Option one was to have a helicopter fly us to the area of the back packs were found and lower us by rope some 100’ to the ground.  That sounded scary.  We talked about the helicopter getting us to a different area where we could jump out of it about 6-8’ off the ground and then have a shorter hike to the area we needed to get to.  But in each instance, it became clear that they helicopter could not bring our gear due to weight issues, so that our stuff would need to be brought in by the BUSF/Police High Mountain Rescue/Army on foot.  It also as apparent that a helicopter could drop us off, but not pick us up.  Meaning we would be stranded in the search area until we were done (anticipating two days of searching) and then we’d have to hike out 12 hours.  Option B was that burros be secured to carry us in.  But even that did not sound great, as our dogs would still have to be on the ground wearing themselves out the nine hours and one burro had rolled down the mountain earlier in the search dumping it’s equipment and breaking it’s leg.  It had to be left behind to be slaughtered so it’s meat could be sold since it could no longer be a pack animal.  No option seemed very good, but we still left the meeting thinking we’d give it our best effort.  We ended up deciding that the next morning we would go on a hike on the ridge line across the valley of the search area and see how we perform in that area in addition to getting a better first hand look at the actual scale of the search area.  While that was happening, plans could be made to start having our gear packed and hiked into the search area and then we would arrive the next day to a base that was already set up.

I slept six hours, which was great for once.  But it was so cold that I had to wear a sweatshirt, long underwear, and a ski cap, while also having four wool blankets over me.  I went to sleep thinking if I was this cold at 3,500 meters inside a hotel room, how would I do at 4,500 meters in a tent on hard ground and my sleeping bag.

Friday 4/28/11

Kellee, Lisa and I had breakfast in the hotels restaurant.  Fabulous Peruvian coffee, cheese on bread with strawberry preserves, and scrambled eggs and rolls.  We looked over the bar area and was bemused to be watching on the television the Royal Wedding.  I’ll always remember where I was when the wedding was happening.

After breakfast, we met up with Ciro’s father, sister, the BUSF and the Police High Mountain Rescue Team and headed to the overlook.  We got out of the van and were instantly taken aback by the sheer vastness of the area.  Ciro’s father went to the edge of the valley and yelled across to the mountain for his son.  We were to take a hike through some fields, then down into the canyon/valley.  Along with us were members of the press.  I decided to wear my search pack to see how bad it would be on me where Kellee and Lisa did not wear theirs.  Going down was fairly easy although I still had to sit and take breaks.  The pressed asked how I was doing and said that the terrain was a minor issue, but the terrain in conjunction with the altitude was a much bigger issue.  I stated that it would be slow going for me and although at home I could hike for hours, here I was already tired out and feeling sick.  The ground was covered in loose rock, sandy soil, and lots of cactus.  The dogs regularly got huge cactus spines stuck in their pads, legs, and even under ones tail.  We had to pull them off.  The dogs seemed to be fine however and didn’t shy away from navigating around the foliage and jumping over rocks.  They seemed tired, but not as much as we were.

The search area.

After an hour, we turned around and headed back up.  I tried wearing my pack as long as I could, but after about ten minutes, I ended up giving it to Reth.  It didn’t make me feel any better when he said my pack was light and not a problem for him.

At the summit again and in the fields, we stopped for a while and rested.  I decided that it was time to at least let Sirius do something since we’d come all this way, and to let the people see how the dogs work.  So I did a demonstration where one of the BUSF members left the area and headed up and over a hill and behind a bunch of cactus.  I had Sirius then search for the man.  The wind was consistent and fairly strong, and Sirius ranged nicely before catching scent.  Once he did, he navigated himself around the cactus and up the rocky outcropping and out of sight of the hidden person.  Everyone was watching for a few moments, and then Sirius returned to me and jumped giving his indication that the man had been found.  I instructed Sirius to “Show Me” and we went back to the man and rewarded Sirius with great enthusiasm.  I was very pleased to see him work so well after all that travel.  Reth said that he had never seen that before and was greatly impressed with Sirius’ ability and they could see the advantage of the dog being able to find something there out of sight of the people.

When resting after that along a small water fall and stream, three burros came up over the ridge.  Sirius was right there, but staying still watching them go by.  The first burro however went out of it’s way to jump to the side towards Sirius and kick Sirius in the rear leg.  A police officer swatted the burro to get it to move along, and the others went by right after.  Sirius didn’t seem greatly injured, but more surprised.  He held his leg up only for a few moments before putting it down again and using it.

Sirius gets stuck with a nasty cactus.

In the van back to Chivay, we rode with Reth.  Kellee, Lisa and I had already pretty much determined that this was too dangerous for us, and that we wouldn’t be an asset to the search efforts.  We wanted to talk with Reth about our decision, and so in the van we were all very honest with each other.  Reth informed us that their team had concerns about us, and that it wasn’t anything personal, but a day earlier, a team of twenty men came to Chivay to head into the mountains and start searching.  They had plans to spend twelve days in the mountains, but after the first day, they had to leave because they could not handle the mountain.  He said that the mornings scouting mission was also designed for them to see us in action and that they felt if we attempted to go on the mountain, that the even higher elevation and harsh conditions would be dangerous to us and that we would require aid from them to get out.

Kellee, Lisa, and I made up our minds to abort the mission and we spoke with Senior Castillo (Ciro’s father) back at the hotel.  He was obviously very disappointed, and wanted us to not make a final decision until after we spoke with the police at the meeting in the evening.

At the meeting, it was the hardest thing we’ve ever had to do.  In attendance were the police, the BUSF, and Ciro’s family.  We told them that we impressed with the search efforts so far, the skills of all those involved, and the drive of the family to bring Ciro home one way or the other.  And that we really wished to be a help, but if anything, we would be a problem, and that bottom line, just as we were offering our sincere condolences to the Castillo family, we would not want them to be in the position to be offering their condolences to our families.  There was talk about our staying for another week to ten days to acclimate, but we have things to take care of at home, and by then, certainly all chances of finding Ciro alive would be none.  And to risk our lives for a recovery seemed a bad idea.  They also asked that since the dogs seemed to acclimate so well so soon, could our dogs be worked by them.  Again, we had to describe how the dogs are partnered and would not work for anyone else.  It was a very hard conversation, and Senior Castillo ultimately thanked us for our efforts and willingness to try to help and wished us well.  The meeting ended with them deciding on the next course of action, which seemed to be having local guides come in and work a winch/pully system to lower and raise a searcher out of the deep drainages to inspect them.

We ended up packing our bags and leaving that night right after the meeting.  It would have been too uncomfortable to be in town with the press, Ciro’s family, and everyone watching us there doing nothing.

We had no place to go, and no return flight information.  Reth ended up sending us to their BUSF base, which was a blessing.  We got there late at night, and felt instantly secure.  A sort of firehouse, except for a urban search and rescue response geared place, the facility was surrounded by high fences with barbed wire, security lighting and a machine gunned armed guard and a loose guard dog.  We were put in the bunk houses upstairs and given hot showers and a chance for some sleep.  I ended up sleeping for four hours because the guard outside was blasting his radio all night long to help keep him awake.

Saturday 4/29/11

We woke up completely cut off from the world.  We had no telephone, no way to get a message to our people back at home, or to Alon to figure out our travel arrangements, and literally by ourselves besides the armed guard outside.  Although everyone has been extremely helpful, this was the first time we had no idea how much longer we would be there.  It being the weekend, Alon thought he could not change our plane tickets for an early return until Monday morning…and it was just now Saturday morning.  We got a hold of our stateside support (Jen), and she managed to get us tickets for a early morning return just having to pay the change fees.

Los Bomberos base.

 We took the time to rest, and then when some BUSF members arrived, we got a tour of the facility, and a chance to get on a laptop and get on the Internet.  It was good to get emails out and check things like Facebook and news of the search story.  We were reading the news about our leaving.  They reported that it was either because the dogs got injured, or that we couldn’t acclimate to the conditions.  They did not appear to be news stores of their being upset with us and if anything, the readers comments after the stories were very supportive and also questioned why Peru could not have their own wilderness dog team made up of members already familiar with the areas and altitude and that would have faster response times.

Cuy...tastes like chicken?

While waiting the day out for our evening flight out, we were kindly taken out to dinner.  Taking a cab through town is quite and adventure.  The drivers know what they are doing, but if I was to drive through there, I’d be in an accident instantly.  With honking and cutting off and speeding around, cars are able to maneuver fairly rapidly.  And the bigger vehicles definitely get the right of way.  Dinner was an amazing place.  Chicken was ordered all around between the three of us, and no one wanted to try the Cuy (deep fried whole guinea pig).  I allowed myself to have a local beer, citing the “I really deserve this” clause.  Back at the BUSF base, we got to observe a very cool youth leadership class for college students.  They got to do things like exercises, then rappelling over the tower, and then crawling through the tunnel systems as a test of their courage and drive.

Then it was off to the airport.  Going from Arequipa to Lima was interesting.  They would not allow the dogs to go through security (the metal detectors and xray machine area)…so they had to be put in a back security room and watch over Reth (thank God he was there to make sure we got off okay because those dogs would not have watched themselves or allowed anyone else to keep them all in a down-stay in a small room).  Once we went through security, we went out onto the tarmac and then around to the backside of the building to the back door to get our dogs.  They came through to us no problem and Reth through out a Gappay ball to us.  I questioned that the dogs could have had anything on them, and the ball thrown through to us having not gotten screened could have been anything else other than a ball.  But in all fairness, Star Peru and the employees of the airport were all amazing at taking care of us and were excited to see the dogs and wished us well and thanks for trying to help them out.

The flight to Lima was a nice one, with lots of picture taking with the flight crew.  The flight from Lima to Miami was of course a rougher one, totally full, but the dogs did great again.  Then we had a seven-hour lay over in Miami.  We were on American soil, and so close, yet so far to getting home.  We spent a lot of time out in the MIA Dog Park pet rest area outside the airport…it is the nicest area to let your dog take a break that I’ve ever seen at an airport.  Real grass, great drainage, benches, plenty of room, and even a real fire hydrant to pee on!

So here we are, getting ready to board the plane.  But before hand we were watching the recap of the royal wedding and the two kisses.  And we heard that President Obama had some important news to announce in thirty minutes, but we would be on board at that time.  (So we took off not knowing about Bin Ladin).  And we were dealing with the bratty un-controlled kid that just whipped Sirius with his jacket.  As we were boarding I said to Lisa, “Watch, I just bet I have that kid sit next to me!” and laughed as a “things couldn’t get any worse” type joke.  I sit down on the plane in my seat…Sirius is stowed under my legs and already asleep.  Lisa is one row behind me and on the other side of the isle…and then down the aisle comes Dad and the kid.  They are sitting in the two seats next to me!  The kid sits right next to me and I give Lisa a look of “OMG”.  But you know what, actually the kid, who was hyper while we were waiting to take off, instantly fell asleep for the full two and a half hour flight to Dulles.  And with his short stubby legs, they weren’t able to even get near Sirius down under him, so Sirius actually got to have extra space!  So it ended surprisingly well all things considered.  While taxing, the kid and I even made up.  I taught him how to be gentle with a dog and had him petting Sirius rather than whipping him, and he taught me Spanish for “eyes”, “sleeping”, and “flying”.  We also talked about who was better, Spider Man or Super Man, or Scooby Doo or Scrappy.

We felt bad having gone so far and through all the effort to try to help and then not being able to do so.  But we think that we made a good impression that Americans are willing to help non-Americans…many times when we were explaining that we were going to help look for a missing student, we would be asked if it was an American.  When we said a Peruvian, they raised their eyes in surprise.  And them seeing our dogs, and the control we had with them, and the skills they had, they may have gotten the spark to try to train their own team…something that the American Rescue Dog Association has agreed to assist them with by hosting some trainings here in Virginia for some of them if they want to do it.

The dogs make the news.

We continue to follow the story of the search.  It is being scaled back, it being thirty days now since Ciro’s disappearance.  The girl, Rosario, is being questioned more about the circumstances of the incident, and as of earlier today, she did not show up to the interview and they are discussing a warrant for her appearance.  Her lawyer states she is still too ill from her being lost for nine days on the mountain, but we will see.  We offer our condolences to the Castillo family, all of which are just wonderful people.  And we recognize the efforts and skill of the Arequipa High Mountain Rescue Police team and the BUSF team.  And as well, the hospitality of all the people we've met along the way.

Some last minute notables:

The people could pronounce Sirius’ name, but not the others.  So Kairos became Carlitos and Zildjian became Z.

Height:
In Virginia we work at 400-900 meters above sea level and do pretty well.

Chivay, where we stayed for the most part, is at 3,600 meters (~10,800 feet)

The missing students backpacks were found at 4,000 meters (~12,000 feet)

The snow line is at 4,500 meters (~13,500 feet)

The summit is at 5,000 meters (~15,000 feet)

The cruising altitude of a commercial jet is 9,000 meters (29,527 feet)

VSRDA has a southern contingency of members.  We call them, “VSRDA South”.  While down in Peru, there was a third contingent: "VSRDA – South-South".

Need for a “Safe Word” as many conversations were on borrowed phones that with other people in close proximity, or even on the other line.  We thought of ours – “Burrito, burrito”, but sadly didn’t think of it until after we were gone!

BUSF is a NGO (non-governmental agency), and normally funded through Spain, but with the economy, funding has been cut off and this year they do not have a budget so they offer classes to raise funds (such as the leadership class described earlier).  For more information, you can visit their site at:

http://www.busf.org/peru/ 

We stayed at the Arequipa base.

Sirius now knows a large number of people in Peru.  Because of the press and just meeting people, I would be traveling along, and someone would say, "That's Sirius Black!".

This story, and the amount of flying with a search dog in the last month (nine flights in just two and a half weeks) has inspired me to make my next blog entry on tips of flying with SAR dogs in cabin.  Look for that soon!