or minute cuts or bruising, she allowed the dog to right himself and stand back up. Sam stood and shook himself vigorously. Dog hair flew in all directions. She took a slicker brush along his broad sides and back, and pulled out the last few remaining briers that had hitchhiked back to camp in his thick double coat. Cupping Sam’s dark sable head in her hands, she nuzzled him close to her face. Taking in a deep breath she heartily whispered to the dog, “You did a great job!”
Sarah was stalling. She couldn’t help feeling like she would be going up against a wall for trying to follow up on her dog’s indications. Time to get a move on and head over to the command unit.
“Truck,” she commanded. Sam jumped up on the tailgate with ease. She directed him into his crate, checked his water and gave him a cookie. Gunner continued to whine faintly. “Oh hey there, boy,” she spoke to Gunner in a soft tone trying to appease and quiet him. He was still excited to see them both. Sarah slipped a cookie through the crate slats to him. “I’ll be back shortly,” she promised and turned toward the command unit. Both dogs stared at Sarah from within their crates. They felt the distracted tension emanate from her, causing them worried concern for their handler.
Sarah pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Kellee. “Hey, Kellee, I’m heading over to the command unit now to meet with the lieutenant and the rest of the search management team including the dive team commander. How do you think I should handle this?”
Kellee and the other canine handlers were slowly making their way back to base from their search tasks.
“How strongly do you feel about Sam’s indication being accurate?” Kellee asked.
“It was pretty black and white. Per his body language and strong indication, I’m positive there’s a body out there. I’m just not sure how far across the lake.” It was more than just the dog, she thought. Weird, it’s also a feeling .
“Well you need to get over to the lieutenant ASAP and explain how strongly you feel that your dog is correct. No matter what the dive team members interject. As you know, they won’t support having that area searched a second time, especially by canine teams.”
Kellee and Sarah quickly went over what the water search strategy should be once a dog was assigned to grid the area by boat.
“When will you and the guys be back in base camp?” Sarah asked Kellee.
“ETA about 15 minutes. I’ll get to the command unit as soon as I get Meika taken care of. You’ll be fine, Sarah. Just try and be as professional as you can. It’s important that we handle this well if we ever want to be called back for a future search by this agency.” Kellee ended the call.
Sweat marks showed through Sarah’s long-sleeve uniform shirt. Beads of perspiration appeared along her brow. Her anxieties returned in full force. She wiped her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt and tucked her long curls behind her ears. Completely stepping out of her comfort zone, she stood up tall and left the security of her truck.
Sarah gathered her courage, her moxie, and headed through the lot to the command unit. Collecting her thoughts, she deliberated how to portray her case to convince the lieutenant and dive team to reconsider. They had to run the canine teams on boats in the area in question. Sarah needed to get dogs on the water. There was no uncertainty in her mind. But how am I going to make the dive team, park rangers and the state police understand that?
As Sarah approached the unit, she noticed the policeman who replaced Dave earlier at the sign-in table. He was the trooper who had lifted the tackle box out of the boat. She tipped her head in acknowledgment and smiled as she passed by. He never turned his head from the table; he only looked up fleetingly over silver-rimmed sunglasses. He didn’t respond to her in the least. She felt a pit in her stomach. Asshole.
She watched as ground-pound
Sarah was stalling. She couldn’t help feeling like she would be going up against a wall for trying to follow up on her dog’s indications. Time to get a move on and head over to the command unit.
“Truck,” she commanded. Sam jumped up on the tailgate with ease. She directed him into his crate, checked his water and gave him a cookie. Gunner continued to whine faintly. “Oh hey there, boy,” she spoke to Gunner in a soft tone trying to appease and quiet him. He was still excited to see them both. Sarah slipped a cookie through the crate slats to him. “I’ll be back shortly,” she promised and turned toward the command unit. Both dogs stared at Sarah from within their crates. They felt the distracted tension emanate from her, causing them worried concern for their handler.
Sarah pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Kellee. “Hey, Kellee, I’m heading over to the command unit now to meet with the lieutenant and the rest of the search management team including the dive team commander. How do you think I should handle this?”
Kellee and the other canine handlers were slowly making their way back to base from their search tasks.
“How strongly do you feel about Sam’s indication being accurate?” Kellee asked.
“It was pretty black and white. Per his body language and strong indication, I’m positive there’s a body out there. I’m just not sure how far across the lake.” It was more than just the dog, she thought. Weird, it’s also a feeling .
“Well you need to get over to the lieutenant ASAP and explain how strongly you feel that your dog is correct. No matter what the dive team members interject. As you know, they won’t support having that area searched a second time, especially by canine teams.”
Kellee and Sarah quickly went over what the water search strategy should be once a dog was assigned to grid the area by boat.
“When will you and the guys be back in base camp?” Sarah asked Kellee.
“ETA about 15 minutes. I’ll get to the command unit as soon as I get Meika taken care of. You’ll be fine, Sarah. Just try and be as professional as you can. It’s important that we handle this well if we ever want to be called back for a future search by this agency.” Kellee ended the call.
Sweat marks showed through Sarah’s long-sleeve uniform shirt. Beads of perspiration appeared along her brow. Her anxieties returned in full force. She wiped her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt and tucked her long curls behind her ears. Completely stepping out of her comfort zone, she stood up tall and left the security of her truck.
Sarah gathered her courage, her moxie, and headed through the lot to the command unit. Collecting her thoughts, she deliberated how to portray her case to convince the lieutenant and dive team to reconsider. They had to run the canine teams on boats in the area in question. Sarah needed to get dogs on the water. There was no uncertainty in her mind. But how am I going to make the dive team, park rangers and the state police understand that?
As Sarah approached the unit, she noticed the policeman who replaced Dave earlier at the sign-in table. He was the trooper who had lifted the tackle box out of the boat. She tipped her head in acknowledgment and smiled as she passed by. He never turned his head from the table; he only looked up fleetingly over silver-rimmed sunglasses. He didn’t respond to her in the least. She felt a pit in her stomach. Asshole.
She watched as ground-pound
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