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We
dedicate this page in honor of those partners who are no longer with us.
Their memory, and the lessons that they taught us, will live on forever.
Ch. Patriot's Stars 'N Stripes
ROM CD AD CGC FFB V1B VCX SAR
Retired K9 "Banner" (Black/Tan Doberman)
*Wilderness Search*
BIS Ch. Platinum's Back in Black CDX ROM CGC x Am/Can. Ch. Dabney's
Don't U Dare Trump v Aria WAC
(Born: July 28, 1991 - September 5, 2001 )
"Banner," my dear,
sweet, gentle friend died in our arms today. Born into a litter of two black
dogs, six black bitches and one brown bitch, Banner was always a willing
participant in ALL of my various interests. Initially purchased as a show dog,
Banner easily switched from trotting around the manicured show ring to ranging
effortlessly through rough backwoods terrain when my interests shifted to search
and rescue. Banner was once described as the dog who could find "anyone,
anywhere, anytime" after Banner found a mock "subject" within twenty minutes in
the pitch dark, even though the person had buried himself three feet under dirt
and brush -- the amount of time typically allowed for such a problem was two
hours. On another occasion, Banner found a mock "subject" who was hidden well
over a mile down an old logging road even before I had gotten my compass out of
my pocket! Banner was a big-moving, big-ranging SAR dog, who loved people and
who would effortlessly search through tough brush or rocky terrain looking for
them. As my first SAR-dog, Banner taught me a tremendous amount about how refind
dogs should be trained, especially high-drive dogs that work out-of-sight.
Suffering at the end from cervical vertebra instability (CVI) and from cancer,
Banner remained a very gentle, patient dog that only wanted to be by your side.
Banner truly was an ambassador for all Doberman Pinschers and I will always love
him and carry him in my heart.
Alisaton Star-Trip v Dalclar
CD WAC VC AD CGC FEMA II MASSARDF
Retired K9 "Harlow" (Black/Tan Doberman) and Gail McCarthy
*Former FEMA Level II Dog*
*Former Massachusetts State-Certified Wilderness Dog*
(BIS Ch. LeMils D Triple Threat x Ch. Lastar's Pantera
(Born: December 7, 1992 - September 11, 2001 )
In light of the twin terrorist attacks today on the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon, the need for urban search and rescue (USAR) trained disaster
dogs is underscored. And, it is with great sadness that we state that one such
USAR dog died with dignity after a long, and valiant, fight with dilated
cardiomyopathy. "Harlow" passed the FEMA Level II Disaster Readiness Evaluation
in 1997 after only 13 months of training. In May 2000, Harlow passed the
Massachusetts Search and Rescue Dog Wilderness Certification Test, making her
one of only four dogs so certified under the new Massachusetts Search Dog
Standards that went into effect in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on
September 19, 1999. In October 2000, Harlow was diagnosed with dilated
cardiomyopathy and was retired from all search and rescue training. At the time
of her retirement, Harlow had been in urban search and rescue training (i.e,
confined space/collapsed structures) and wilderness training (as a bark alert
dog) for over five years and had been trained in human remains detection for
almost three years. Along with search canines from the Massachusetts and
Connecticut State Police, Harlow responded to the Worcester Cold Storage
Warehouse where six firefighters lost their lives in a catastrophic warehouse
fire. Each of the canines was rotated into the building as excavation efforts
cleared the building of burned material. All of the canines performed well and
areas of interest correlated with the locations where the missing firefighters
were ultimately found. Extremely task-oriented with a fanatical ball-drive,
Harlow was a tremendously reliable search dog who intrinsically loved to search
and who was controllable with the whispered word. Had Harlow survived, Harlow
would have worked the World Trade Center alongside the rest of the FEMA MA TF 1
team and she would have worked diligently in searching for survivors as was her
nature. I could not have been more proud of her and all her accomplishments. And
I will always, always miss her working brightly at my side.
Each
dog in your life teaches you a tremendous amount, not only about
themselves, but your own strengths and weaknesses as well. The following two
Dobermans were no different -- and I want to thank each of them for all that
they unstintingly gave me over the years. Each of these dogs gave me
opportunities to do things -- and to learn things -- that I never would have
been able to experience without them. I also would like to thank Shirley Hammond
(CARDA/FEMA) and Elaine Sawtell (FEMA), and all the many, many other people who
offered me their time, and their wisdom, as I worked through the training
challenges each of these dogs posed. Finally, I would like to thank Dr.
Elizabeth Shepherd and Dr. Jeffrey Giles, and all the many other people at
Highland Animal Hospital, Needham, Massachusetts, each of whom stitched and
stitched and re-stitched all of my dogs and who graciously rose to the challenge
of keeping my SAR dogs sound and who always responded to any crisis with
professionalism and with skill and who always understood the importance I placed
on top quality care.
Thank you one and all.
Gail McCarthy
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