Englewood - Pet Appreciation Day
During Pet Appreciation Day & Walk, hosted by the Suncoast Humane Society at Englewood’s Ann Dever Memorial Park, we saw flying dogs, dancing dogs, big dogs and small dogs. But, the dog that won us over, paws down, was Morgan, a two-year-old Cavalier King Charles. He is a certified tracking dog with the Peace River K9 Search & Rescue Department. Now, when you think of search and rescue K9s, the first breeds that come to mind are most likely the German Shepherd or Labrador Retriever, and with good reason. Most cadaver and live-find search and rescue K9s are of those breeds along with Bloodhounds for their obvious skills. Morgan’s human and handler knew her dog had some- thing special to offer. With a friend’s encouragement, Mary looked into the feasibility of utilizing Morgan’s skills as a search and rescue K9. “When we walked into the
training facility, everyone looked at Morgan and laughed,” smiled Mary. Everyone else was standing along- side their GSDs ready for the day’s training session. Morgan’s scent specific skills
and prowess shut everyone up pret- ty fast.Within six months, Morgan knew exactly what he was doing. He’s made the team proud, having
performed exemplary on several actual search and rescue missions. Peace River K9 Search &
Rescue has nine specialty teams including the Autistic Alzheimer Rapid Response Team (AART). The teams respond quickly and at no cost to requesting law enforce- ment agencies or emergency serv- ices. As a live-search K9, Morgan’s skills have been put to the test searching for lost children with Autism and adults with Alzheimer’s who have wandered away from home or a facility. During one particular search
for a gentleman with Alzheimer’s, Morgan and Mary were part of the search and rescue teams called out on the mission. Morgan alerted by sitting down in a spot near the road. It turns out the man they were looking for was sitting on the side of the road in that very spot just moments before being picked up by a stranger in a car. Soon after- wards, the man was found, safe, a few miles from where Morgan had alerted. Morgan is now in training to
become a cadaver search and rescue dog as well. He has earned respect from his fellow team mates and their handlers. He proves that it’s not the size of the dog that matters. It’s the heart.
Peace River K9 Search and Rescue Association also offers a leadership program for young adults. The Cadet Program teaches self reliance and a positive self image. Cadets become valued members of PRSAR by providing support to their deployment team, assistance with training exercises and help at public events. Minimum age requirement for the Cadet program is 14 years-old and a grade point average of at least 2.5.
941.548.7560
PRSARK9@gmail.com PRSAR.org
Suncoast Humane Society Englewood 941.474.7884
Humane.org
Members of the Central Florida Dog & Disc wowed the crowd. Above, Bindi, a three- year-old Border Collie has some fly going for her. Diggory, a Wheaten Terrier/Poodle mix knows the ladies love a sharp-dressed dog. Whoopin’ Gangnam style.
www.TheNewBarker.com Winter 2017 THE NEW BARKER 89
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