Raphael, The Cat-Detection Turtle

A very good dog.

On November 16th, 2022, we were searching for a lost cat in the woods beside a golf course. A foursome was teeing off and generally hitting in our direction, so we hid behind some trees for a moment, for safety. I sat down on the ground to tell Raph what a good dog he was, doing a great job. He came over and flopped across my legs to rest. It was the same way he flopped across my legs during that week when I first met him, out in the wilderness, with his brothers.

On August 20th, 2021, Useless Bay Sanctuary volunteers were called to a location at a state forest gate in the mountains where 4 puppies appeared to have been dumped. They all looked very similar, obviously related, and to help keep them straight in my mind, I named them after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Donatello was the lightest, then Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael, the darkest. Raphael also appeared to be the smallest of the bunch. About six months old, they were spirited and barking, not allowing anyone near. I used calming signals and treats to gain their trust in a short time, and before long I was accepted as one of their pack. It took us three days to devise a scheme to catch all four dogs at once, to make sure none of them would run off and get lost. On the second day, Raphael decided that he owned me, and he was glued to me. His bond with me helped the other relax and trust me. You can read about that capture in this article.

Now, if you know me, you know I pretty much fall in love with every dog I see. But Raphi, he really got to me. UBS was able to get the four dogs to the shelter and then spring them from the kennels when no one claimed them after the hold period. I really, really wanted Raphi to come live with us, but I just couldn’t see how to make it work with the five dogs already in the house. He went to a foster home where he was having fun and thriving. I remember that I was out walking with my dogs along a quiet street near home, and suddenly I was overcome with a need to have Raphael in my life somehow. I imagined he could become a great working dog and be my partner, saving other lost cats or dogs. I felt it was unfair that I couldn’t have him, but I really couldn’t see how to manage six dogs, especially when they were all so crazy.

Brenda agreed to watch Raphi for a few days when his foster, Janelle had to go out of town. Brenda soon fell in love with him and agreed to foster him, and then she decided to adopt him. She let me visit him frequently. Raph enjoyed my visits and he would greet me with his trademark Face-Slam greeting, as seen in this video. Brenda started bringing him to our weekly training sessions, and Raph tested well for becoming a cat-detection dog. When he was first adopted, he had some anxiety about certain situations. Under Brenda’s guidance and nurturing, he has gained so much confidence, and now he can go into a variety of environments and situations calmly. I think the training for cat detection has helped him grow. Having a job and a purpose helps a dog handle other challenges. He has been in training for almost a year, and he is very good at it. With Mu out for minor surgery, we had an opportunity to use Raphi on an actual search. I was excited to get to work with my buddy.

When we first started searching for this lost cat in the woods, Raphi found a large chunk of fur very quickly. The tuft, which clearly belonged to the cat we were seeking, appeared to have all come out at once, but I couldn’t tell if the lost cat had just gotten caught on some brambles, or if she scratched her own fur out, or if she had an encounter with wildlife. We kept searching, and Raph pointed out a little den under a fallen tree. At the entrance to the den, on a branch angling across the opening, Raph found a significant clump of fur that had caught on the branch. It definitely seemed to be the lost cat’s fur. There’s no way a human could have found this clue just by looking through acres of woods. Unfortunately, the lost cat wasn’t in that little hiding spot, but clearly she had been there. Raphi’s nose pointed us right where we needed to go.

A little farther on, we found a swampy area in the woods. Raph loves to splash around in water. For about twenty seconds, he got the zoomies in the swamp, sprinting back and forth with a wild look on his face, his ears flapping in the wind. I let him run to the end of the long leash and then redirected him back, gently. He zoomed in big ovals, smacking the water with his big feet, splashing everywhere. Then, after that brief outburst of unbridled joy, he got right back to work.

We searched for two and a half hours. We did not have permission to enter several private properties near where Raphi found the fur, so we had to stop the search without pinpointing the lost cat. This was his first official search of his career, and he performed perfectly, finding evidence no human could have found. That we did not locate the lost cat was certainly not the fault of Raphael. If we had had permission to search more properties, there is a good chance we could have found the cat. I would like to have rewarded Raphi with treats or a game of fetch or something special, to celebrate his first successful search, but he isn’t really motivated by treats or games. He just likes to search. The work was his reward.

We drove him back to his home, to drop him off with Brenda. In a fenced yard, we let Raphi and Tino out to play. Raphi zoomed around in big circles with Tino chasing him. He would gain distance and then come sprinting back at Tino and jump right over the top of him. He also slammed into Tino many times, but since Tino is twice his size, Raph would just bounce off. It was a good day for him. He got to go on a big adventure, he got the zoomies in a swamp, and he played with Tino, his best friend.

Raphael is making my dream come true. If he can’t live with us, because the burden of craziness would be too much for one household, borrowing him for searches and adventures is the next best thing. Raphael performed just as I would want a search dog to perform. Although he doesn’t have as much experience as Mu, and he has not yet found the types of evidence that Mu is great at finding, such as internal organs or bones or teeth, I am certain Raphi will be able to find such evidence when the situation arises. He searches very thoroughly and he lets me direct him through the landscape. I feel confident that Raphael and I will go on hundreds of searches together, and he will save the lives of many cats with his skills. This sweet little dog, apparently abandoned and left for dead in the wilderness, is going to have a full life where he is loved by everyone, a family member, with an important job, saving lives. I am very proud of him, and glad to be his partner. That Brenda lets me see him and work with him regularly is the best gift anyone has ever given me.

These days, when he greets me, he doesn’t slam into my face any more. I kind of miss that. Now, he gives me a gentler body slam, showing that he is happy to see me, but with less chance of injury to either of us. The days I get to see Raphi and work with him are the best days. I am so glad to have him in my life.

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