This last month, the American Rescue Dog Association (ARDA) was asked to come to Thailand by the
Thai Volunteer Search and Rescue Dog team in order to train with them and provide some insight from our perspective on how they were doing. I was one of the lucky ones to go and represent ARDA, along with my teammate and ARDA President, Jennifer Massey.
The trip was a very successful and wonderful experience, and I wanted to just capture everything I could here for those that are interested and haven't had the opportunity to hear about it first hand from me.
The trip there:
My team mate, Jennifer, and I left the Virginia area in about 50 degrees weather temperature. It was hard deciding what to pack and bring not knowing what kind of weather we would have there, or have upon our return. We also wanted to pack as much as we could, but not be inundated with luggage that could possibly get separated from us. We arrived at the airport in Dulles and started our adventure. First leg was to Chicago. That was easy. Second leg was to Japan. That was harder. Seventeen hours in the plane. You can only read so much, watch movies so much, and eat so much. What I didn't get to do so much was sleep. We flew over Russia, which was exciting. The views of the snow covered mountains were awesome to see. On our descent into Japan, I was excited to see the landscape of a country I've had the pleasure of living in before (1982-1984). I knew I was not in America anymore by looking at the traffic driving on the opposite side of the road. When we landed, I was excited to see all things Japanese. From the large school group of kids in their uniforms walking by, to the stores with the Japanese items for sale and the prices marked in Yen, to the people speaking in a language I could recognize from so long ago (although I was only catching phrases). Sadly, all these things I witnessed were only for about 30 minutes before we boarded our next plane for the last leg of our journey to Thailand. On this last leg, I again really didn't get any sleep during the next six hours. I spent my time brushing up on my Thai that I had learned before the trip. I spoke with a flight attendant to confirm my accent and phrases, and I felt prepared for when I'd arrive. I also was wondering about the team we would be visiting. From everything leading up to this point, I didn't know all that much. I'd seen pictures of their team on Facebook, but had shared only brief "comments" on various photographs. Jennifer had a better idea than I did, but even hers, she admitted, was not as clear as we Americans would have liked. One of the things I learned from this trip about our differences is how we plan. In my work, I've been taught that any job you expect to be successful needs to have 80% planning, 15% execution and 5% follow up. We had a rough schedule set up, and goals we hoped to accomplish, but we felt we were arriving in Thailand not as fully prepared as we Americans would expect to be.
The Arrival:
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| Sprite, Coke, and Bhat |
We arrived in the dark. I couldn't see much of Thailand from the air during our descent, but once in the airport terminal, I knew again we were not in Kansas anymore. I got to get my newly acquired passport it's first Visa stamp, and broken in. Happily our baggage was fine, and we were able to figure our way to where we needed to be for a shuttle. We updated our Facebook pages with the news of our safe arrival and marveled at the time zone difference (exactly 12 hours ahead of us in Virginia) and the length of time to get there. During the 30 minute shuttle ride to the hotel, we were trying to "See Bangkok", but it was midnight and not too much to observe. One thing I noticed were the side-street markets/stops/stores that were still open with people sitting and eating. I was later told by one of our hosts that the Thai people eat all day long! We arrived at our hotel, checked in and gave instructions for a wake-up call in four hours (we were scheduled to get picked up by the team and get right to training!). I got to use my Thai words for the first time and went to bed happy that I hadn't gotten any funny looks. I also downed some room service of some chicken/pork/beef Satay and an icy cold beer! If the food was going to be anything like this, then I knew I was in for a wonderful time eating.
Day 1:
I met the first member of the Thai Volunteer SAR Dog team, May, in the lobby of the hotel the next morning. I greeted her with a bow and a Thai greeting but also added in a good old fashion hug. That made an impression! Happily, her English, as with many of the people we met, had a great command of the language and we could talk and joke with each other easily. We boarded a van with a hired driver who was a professional at driving and headed out to the first training location to meet up with the rest of the team. But our first stop was to get some breakfast. We flew all the way to Thailand, and our first meal out on town was non-other than McDonald's! But this McD's had a Thai touch, with a welcoming Ronald statue out front giving the traditional Thai greeting. And instead of Apple pies, you had your choice of either a corn pie or pineapple pie. One of their members and I also walked next door to the Starbucks for a coffee! With breakfast down, we continued on our ride to the training location. But first a momentary break at a street side rest stop. Here's where I got to use my Thai currency for the first time buying the first of many, many, many Cokes. Also I learned about the many different style toilets that would be found on this trip. This one at the stop had no paper and no way of flushing it other than dipping a bowl in a bucket of water and pouring it into the toilet. You also didn't sit on it, but stood on it. And if needed, there was a handy hose with a kitchen sink styled nozzle to used to rinse clean.
Our first training was at a farm where there were banana and rubber trees as well as fish. Even though it was still early in the morning, the heat of the day was rising. Some farm workers that were also helpers with the team made some shade for the dogs and handlers. We met the majority of the team by this point and thankfully they all went by easier names thank their real Thai ones. We met Kate, Pop, Joe, Apple, May, and several others. Also in attendance was Kate and Pops daughter, Pin. Just like you might see in a training here in Virginia where kids of members are sometimes in attendance, the same was going on in Thailand.
We started off with taking a look at how they run a typical training. We watched the dogs do run-aways down a path and also a small area search. The dogs were either labs, or German shepherd, and even a Cocker spaniel named Milo. First impressions that Jen and I had with the team was that their members were professional, were on the right track doing training, and had some nice looking dogs. We quickly learned their dog’s names, and just like in America where it seems we remember the dog’s names more than the handlers, we made quick friends with the likes of Longgong, Milo, Sinci, and Almond. They also had a good set of helpers that were not dog handlers but willing and eager to hide from the dogs. Jen and I made several suggestions and tips after watching all the dogs run through a few problems. We stressed the importance of the lost subject (helper) playing and rewarding the dog properly and allowing the dog to return with their earned reward toy. They all listened with the aid of an interpreter and learned very quickly what we were hoping to get across. We worked a little bit more and then took a break from the middle part of the day, which was getting quite hot.
We drove into the city of Chanthaburi and ate at a small open air restaurant. You could see what was on the menu at the front of the building. I picked out the red pork and rice, which was delicious. We all also shared pork satay. It was here that I really learned about the Thai peoples good nature and genuine personalities. And their sense of humor was awesome. Jen and I also learned a very important lesson at this lunch…how to eat the food. Given a spoon and a fork, we at first were stabbing everything with our forks and putting it in our mouth as at home. But in Thailand, you eat with the spoon and use the fork to push your food around and onto your spoon. If not told about this, Jen and I would have gone the whole trip eating like an unknowing tourist!
Dinner was at a wonderful restaurant in a private room. We talked about our organization (ARDA) and our methods and about other organizations and answered their team’s questions. We presented them with ARDA books and tee-shirts. At this dinner, I earned my nickname of “the chameleon” since I would eat hot peppers and my face would turn red!
Our accommodations for the next two days were these cool private cabins. Behind the cabin was a mountain stream with fresh water and fish in it. The cabin had the firmest bed I’ve ever slept in my entire life, but I slept great!
Day 2:
This time we went to a rock quarry where we worked on rubble. We started off however with one of the best breakfasts Jen and I have ever had, with many new and tasty things that we’ve never heard of before. We noted that back at home, when we would eat at a training, we eat “on the fly”, stuffing things down alone. In Thailand, everyone ate together before getting started. Once started, we worked the dogs in and around the rocky terrain. It wasn’t the best of conditions for true rubble or “urban” training as it was practically impossible to hide the subjects down and out of site of the dogs. Using cracks in the rocks, we were able to hide the subjects and covered them up with tarps. We did some call outs, area searches, overhead, and multiple subject searching. Jen and I again offered some tips on training methods to strengthen drive or a bark, but were still impressed with their dogs and team members. The neat thing about this training site was that it was in the shade of the cliffs for much of the morning and a strong breeze was being pushed along through the area. But once the sun made its way up over the ridge line, the sun just beat down on us. Jen and I took turns working with the dogs, and also hiding. Also, the helpers the team had again proved to be very good at hiding from the dogs.
To beat the heat again, we took off for lunch. This time we went to the beach to have a nice ocean side lunch under a covered picnic pavilion. We were on the edge of the Gulf of Thailand, and the water looked too inviting not to go in. So I switched into my swimsuit and went for a swim with a couple of the teams dogs! The water was great!
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| Presentation on Selecting a SAR Dog |
Lunch was an assortment of seafood (crabs, clams, etc.) and chicken, along with a tasty baggy of coconut milk and followed by some ice-cream. Once lunch was done, Jen gave two presentations on her laptop on selecting a dog to become a candidate for search and rescue work. It was the most scenic location to ever hold a seminar. Once the day started getting cooler, we returned to the quarry for some more training and then took a short break to see some sites in Chanthaburi.
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| I felt like a stripper coming out of a cake! |
We then headed to a nearby school to do some building searching in the gymnasium. We worked the dogs in darkness inside, where they had to find me either hidden behind a door in a storage room, or in the middle of a stage. The most interesting was a play on the sitting on top of a ladder in the middle of a dark room and having the dog search for you. Since we didn’t have a ladder, I hid in a stack of truck tires. When the dogs would find me in the middle of the gym, I’d pop up and reward the dog and do my best not to get pulled over. After working all the dogs several times, we headed off to dinner.
Dinner was at an open air market. Tons of food of all types being sold everywhere you looked. Jen was more brave than I was when it came to trying all the foods passed to her, but I’d like to think I was pretty open myself.
Day 3:
Waking up in the private cabin was great. I was in range of free Wi-Fi, and was able to update my Facebook and do some emailing from my phone. The sound of geckos and the stream outside was very peaceful. For breakfast, we drove into the city to the market and walked along the streets looking at all the vendors selling everything from turtles and eels to popcorn! We bought a lot of food for breakfast and returned to cabins to dine on the back porch of Pop and Kate’s. After breakfast, we enjoyed watching Pop and their dogs Sinci and Milo go for a swim along with his daughter Pin.
After breakfast, we had a little bit of time to do some site seeing in Chanthaburi before heading into Bangkok to meet up with the rest of the team. Today’s training was a seminar where various prospective members were invited along with some local officials and dog handlers from different agencies. Jen and I gave a talk about building drive, took a look at each dog one at a time and offered tips and advice about what they might be working on or goals with the dog, and spoke about dogs behaviors in general. We also were able to demonstrate agility. Unfortunately, nightfall came too soon, and we ended this training before getting all the dogs out a second time.
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Jen shows how to keep a dogs attention and control
while Mim translates |
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| I got to check the play drive of a lot of dogs. |
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| Jen shows how to use treats to entice Milo over the ladder. |
Jen and I moved into our next accommodation at one of the hotels in the center of Bangkok. If not for the assertiveness of the driver that the team had hired, we would have gotten to our hotel much later than we did! Sometimes reaching speeds of 85mph on open stretches, or honking at cars to move out of the way, or even cutting around them or across service roads! We were in downtown Bangkok, and it was a different world than the country side. After bidding a good night to those that came with us to drop us off, we checked into the hotel and then headed out for a short walk on the main streets. We looked at all the vendors, shrines, and buildings and did a little bit of shopping. Bangkok is a very bustling city, especially at night time. There was so much to see, but so little time.
Day 4:
Eating in the hotel, we didn’t get to have a traditional or authentic Thai breakfast, but it was still good and filling. Jen and I then met up with Mim in the lobby and took off for our last bit of training. This time Jen and I were giving a couple PowerPoint presentations on the use of SAR dogs. This was a joint lecture where we were joined with another presenter who spoke on the topic of injuries and conditioning of the working dog. After this part of the day was completed, we were officially over with our ARDA involvement with the Thai Volunteer SAR Dog team. Jen and I were presented with TSARD team shirts and we presented them with several small gifts. We had a joint lunch at the school where we had the presentation and then said many good byes to those that we would not see again for the remainder of our trip.
After lunch, we started our last evening in Bangkok, and we finished it with a bang (no pun intended!). We were taken to the Sunday Market, which is an enormous outdoor/indoor shopping district. Vendors selling everything from clothes, jewelry, pottery, food, artwork, and even animals. We even saw a squirrel wearing a Santa hat for sale! I thought about getting this, but didn’t think I’d be able to get on a plane with it! We saw performers as well. The market was so crowded with vendors and people that it was a literal maze and hard to navigate through. Pickpockets were rampant here, so Jen wore her backpack on her front side and my wallet was buried deep in my front pocket. One of the team members, and now our good friend, guided us through the throngs of people and kept us on schedule. He also assisted with bartering for items. I enjoyed using my Thai to say things like “how much”, “I don’t want this”, “thank you” and “hello”. It was funny, because I asked what was the phrase to say when you come to an accepted offer after bartering and agree to buy the item thinking there was some formal saying or Thai word…they said that I should simply say, “okay”!
We were whisked away from the market with some other planned outing. We were scheduled to meet up with several other team members at a dock on the river to take a dinner cruise. We rushed onto first the train, and from there a taxi. If not for our companion, we would have been woefully lost on the train system and taxi’s…or had been slowed down at a tremendous amount anyway. When we got to the place where we were to meet the boat for the cruise, we were too late. It had already left without us. But apparently, somehow communication was sent to the boat and the boat captain was willing to turn the boat around and return to the dock to pick us up! This was amazing to Jen and I that we were able to jump on board and make the dinner. During the dinner, this was the one time that I saw a lot of other Caucasians. I hadn’t seen any really before other than a couple in the Sunday Market. This cruise was wonderful in so many ways. This was our last Thai dinner in the country, and there was on-board entertainment with traditional Thai dancing and music. But the most spectacular were the views of all the palaces and shrines along the riverside.
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| Good times with good friends. |
After dinner and our return to land, we were given a tour of the city. We were too late to go inside the king’s palace, but we did get some great views of it from the outside. We said our farewells after a late night and Jennifer and I spent the remainder of the evening packing. Our hosts were very generous and made sure we had several gifts to remember their team and Thailand before we left…this, on top of what Jennifer and I bought ourselves, made for some very creative packing!
The Flight Back:
Headed home seemed faster than our coming…and it was literally. With strong tail winds we were able to shave off a little over two hours of flying time. We did have a little longer lay over in Japan, but still not enough to exit the airport and see or do anything. So we just shopped in the duty free stores of the airport and updated our Facebook pages again. Landing in Chicago, we exited the airport to walk to our next flight to D.C.. We were greeted by a cool blast of cold air. It was very refreshing and although we could have taken a shuttle train to our next terminal, walking outside was a nice change from sitting for hours on end. The neat thing with all these flights was that there were little maps that showed you where you were at, and how high and fast the plane was flying. It was great seeing on the screen home getting closer and closer. Coming in for a landing in the dark, I knew I was back in the land of traffic, overcrowding, and hectic lifestyles when I saw the thousands of lights and vehicles on the roads as far as I could see.
Just a few thoughts:
The Thai Volunteer SAR Dog team members are all very professional and have a clear goal of what they want to accomplish. It’s our hopes that our visit will help them on their way to achieving the results they are looking for. Jennifer and I were proud to represent the American Rescue Dog Association and our training methods with them. Just like in America, where teams do public appearances and in doing so, promotes wilderness safety or dog safety, their team does the same. They demonstrate some skills and even donate blood from their dogs. One thing they promote as an add-on to their program is how to be a good pet owner.
The Thai people are a wonderful people. They have such a long history, are friendly, and have great senses of humor. They were understanding if we did not know any customs (it’s rude to eat and walk around in the market, don’t point your foot at something, much less a person, don’t touch someone on the head) and patient with us. They made sure we were very well taken care of and even went above and beyond. They are tolerant of different religions and also have a great respect for the elderly. I asked how to you call someone over to you with your hand, and learned how to call a peer or a child, but they stressed you NEVER call an elderly person over to you…you go to THEM.
The training areas were interesting. The wilderness contained vegetation that was not only dense, but could also be very hazardous. Because of the spikes on several plant species, the dogs can not wear vests while working. The urban was either an intact building, or a quarry. They can not find any true rubble, which will be a necessity for pursuing any kind of urban training. Trying to find a collapsed building and getting approval to work on it is apparently hard, and making a pile is unheard of.
It was interesting to note that they train very similarly to methods that we do in America. There were only a very few differences. One difference is that they remove their dogs from their vehicles and tie them out in the shade at training.
The issues they have, just like we do, are:
1) Finding suitable training locations.
2) Finding sponsors or supporters to assist with funding.
3) Trying to determine if a dogs drive is sufficient enough to be able to turn it into a SAR dog.
There are four different types of dogs in Thailand:
1) The street dog that is a stray. This dog is usually very skinny, has no collar. It is ignored and just lays about where ever it wants.
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| The dog is not hit...it is just sleeping there in the road. |
2) The street dog that is cared for, wears a collar, but free to roam wherever it likes.
3) The little “Paris Hilton” type dogs complete with clothes and carrying bags. These dogs are very much pampered.
4) The working dogs like the members of the TSARD have or the metro transit authority police have. They are their pets, but have a job.
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| O-Lieng means "Iced Black Coffee" |
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| To our new Thai friends, we say Sa-wat-dee Kah and Sa-wat-dee kraup! |
For more pictures of wonderful Thailand, please visit these photo albums:
This post is about the final certification test that I just passed with Sirius. It is the end result of three years of training. Sure the training was hard. And sure all the testing was hard (although easier than the first time I went through them with my first search dog), and even the final test was hard...but probably the hardest thing was just getting started again after Hero died. Deciding to do it all over again with another dog was the hardest...that first step back into the woods looking at a furry four footed partner running around and it not being Hero. I started Sirius thinking I was honoring Hero, but along the way, it turned out to be "This is Sirius' time now" and although I thought about Hero on my final certification test, I was more proud of Sirius and his success. This is how it all went down:
