Valentino is a very good dog

12 finds in 48 searches this year.

Of course, I would think he is a great dog if he just sat around the house all day. Tino has worked hard this year. The year is not over, and he will probably hit 52 searches, or one per week. Tino and I don’t do as many searches for dogs as Mu and Raphael and I have done for cats because the window of time and the conditions are more flexible for cat searches. For dogs, we need to start within the first three days, if possible, and the dog’s family needs to have something with the missing dog’s scent. For cats, we don’t need something with the scent of the lost cat, and the search dog has been successful up to two weeks after the disappearance. Tino wouldn’t mind doing more searches, but one per week is a pretty good pace.

Today, we searched for a small dog who had been missing about 46 hours. Tino tracked the scent for several blocks down the street, then through a power line corridor to another neighborhood. At a vacant house, Tino tracked to the back corner of the fence, where it appears the lost dog went through to the other yard. From there, he tracked through another fence, a couple of blocks over, and then to a fence of a large cow pasture. We couldn’t find a way in at first. We went along one side, hoping to pick up the scent again, and Tino caught the scent where the dog came back out of the pasture. From there, we followed for about 200 feet until the scent went back into the pasture. We had to go out and around to try to get permission to go into the field. We got lucky and the property owner happened to drive up as we were there. We got permission to go into the fields, being mindful of the cattle, who had very large horns. Tino took us into a second pasture, then out the other side, to a different power line corridor. There, in the long grass, he pointed out evidence. It appeared that the fur he found was a visual match for the missing dog, who happened to be unique in appearance. The way the fur was distributed, it seemed likely that the small dog had been taken by a coyote. I told the dog’s owner that we couldn’t be 100% sure, and that they should still keep looking for their dog. Tino’s scent tracking and the evidence he found strongly suggested what happened. Of course, they were very sad, but they appreciated Tino’s good work. He tracked for about a mile, crossing many barriers. He had to stop and wait 6 different times, and he got right back to business after each pause. The evidence he found could only have been found by him. Not in a million years could the dog’s owners have found these tufts of fur in an obscure patch of grass under the power lines, a mile from home. Tino gave this family an answer. It was a remarkable feat for a search dog, to track the scent that far, through so many barriers and obstacles.

A week earlier, Tino found Dot, the yellow lab, in a very undramatic way. He got the scent from her fur that had been brushed out. He followed it for three blocks. Tino had a strong scent of her and he seemed to think she was close. She had been missing three days. Tino tracked her to a property that had many abandoned outbuildings and derelict trailers, which provided dozens of places to hide. It took us about 20 minutes to find someone to give us permission to go inside a fenced area, but when we got in, Dot peeked out from behind a building after a few minutes. Tino barked at her in an excited tone, having won the game. She wanted to come and see Tino, but wished he wouldn’t bark quite so much. I was able to put a leash on her in under a minute, and I texted the owner that Tino had found Dot. We walked her home to her family. Finding Dot was probably the most straightforward walk up find Tino has had in his career. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was an easy search because the scent trail was three days old. It was a fairly short scent trail, which made it easier than usual. Dot was very glad to be back in her own home.

This year, Tino found Dot, Scout, Yeobo, Caper, Talia, and Copper, alive and well. In the other 6 cases that I count as finds, he found remains, or persuasive evidence. In every case, he did great work, even if we never found the dog, and he was a pleasure to work with. We wish we could find the lost dog every time, and if every search was as easy as the search for Dot, we would have a much higher rate of finds. Our 25% success rate is very good, and just about what I would expect to have, given that there are many factors outside our control that can prevent us from finding the dog, or evidence. We might hit property lines and not get permission to continue. In one case, we simply lost the scent trail, I suspect because the dog ran in the road, where vehicle traffic obliterated the scent. I always tell Tino what a good dog he is, even when we don’t find the lost dog. I feel very fortunate to work with him.

I spend a lot of time with Tino, usually 24 hours a day. I am only ever apart from him when I am working a cat case with Mu or Raphi. We find time to play whenever we can, and he loves to play with Raphael and Raven, our new addition. Lately, we have been going for long walks late at night, so we can exercise Raven and hopefully help her be less destructive. Tino is 7 years old, and I have had him since the day he was born. I have thousands of pictures of him. All dogs are beautiful, in their own ways, but I think Tino is very photogenic. Every day, I tell him that I love him. I wish he could read this so he would know how much I value his great work and his good companionship. Mu and I have worked searches together for 11 years, now. I hope Tino and I can have that long to work together. I really like the person I am when I am working beside Tino. I am proud to be his human.