Page 26 September 2014 National service dog month celebrates canine heroes Continued on page 27 By Amanda Savage September is National Service Dog Month. A canine’s companionship, trainability and sense of smell have motivated their use in the workforce. There are dogs used in pest control services that sniff out bedbugs, even some used in medical research that can detect diseases like cancer. In Phoenix we have common police dogs, search and rescue dogs and therapy dogs. To salute the dogs who work to help us, we met with a few local working dogs, to learn more about the training and lifestyle of dogs in service to humans. –  $       ~   giving investment advice, or in a business trying to make a living. But where you    "       help us. SEARCH AND RESCUE THE HEROES Circumstances surrounding search and rescue are a reality in which many humans couldn’t imagine working. Search and rescue dogs look for people, both living and deceased. #' & ’        &             "   as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue Division. These dogs are on call, and have to be ready to travel around the valley and country at a moment’s notice. +    &  ~    uncover the remains of missing victims of the mudslides this past March, and were successful. Most of the rescue dogs are Labrador retrievers. The breed is naturally athletic, playful and truly loves – retrieving. The dogs all come from different places. Some come from breeders, others are “washed up” trial dogs whose owners no longer want them, although the group tries to scout potential talent from local shelters and animal control. Phoenix Fire dispatcher Dana Medlin is the handler of Labs, Hoss (an 8-year-old black Lab male) and Rainey (a 2-year-old black Lab female) and explains that dogs have “the instinct and drive” needed for the job. Dogs have to be at least 18-months- old to even test, and training to meet minimum training requirements takes about two years. }~         minimum requirements,” explains Medlin. ‰        "  is non-stop training. “I sat down to watch a movie with my family, and there were 12 tennis balls in my lap by the time the hour was over,” says Medlin. These dogs are always on the move. His backyard is a dog training ground, equipped with tunnels and an eight-foot ladder for the dog to climb. The dogs travel with their handlers to work, they play and exercise at home, and are on call 24/7, 365 days a year. Three days each week, the dogs attend training sessions at the Special Operations Training Academy, where pretend victims are hidden in piles of rubble. In real-life situations, search grounds are often very dangerous, after a building collapse, for example, the rubble is covered in concrete, glass, metal, electrical wiring, gas leaks, etc. The length of service depends on the dog. They love what they do, so usually their career ends when their body starts to lag behind their drive. THERAPY DOGS GENTLE GIANTS Therapy dogs possess a natural love of being around people. Nicole Bidwill got Barney, the St. Bernard, with the intention of having a regular pet. She started taking Barney to obedience school, and was approached by the trainer, who mentioned that Barney possessed a “very special personality” and that Bidwill should consider having him be a therapy dog. This personality is “loving, calm and interested in people,” says Bidwill. Curious, Bidwill did her research     —   = @ was only one year old when he got his   "    = Therapy dogs must have all of their basic obedience skills mastered, and be observed in the hospital under certain scenarios (that most dogs would react to) like loud voices, wheelchairs and being around patients. Barney spends most of his time at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. He’s the only St. Bernard on the team, and although his breed isn’t the most common type of    "      gentle, friendly, obedient and willing to please. St. Bernard dogs have also been used as rescue dogs in very cold places as early as the 17th century. “He was bred originally to help people, and I think he still has that instinct,” says Bidwill. Barney keeps very busy throughout the year. He goes to Phoenix Children’s Religious Instruction • Strong Academics • Foreign Language • Cutting Edge Technology Leadership Programs • PE and Interscholastic Sports • Instrumental and Vocal Music “Arts Attack” Program • School Nurse • Bus Transportation Available Visit our br and new campus for a tour today! Some spots still available! 3901 East Indian School Road • 602-957-7010 • www.clsphx.org CHRIST LUTHERAN SCHOOL Christian Values. Quality Education. Preschool through Grade 8 Applications are being accepted for the 2014-2015 school year. Complete Residential & Commercial Plumbing Barney with his owner Nicole Bidwill.

Page 27 September 2014 Dogs Continued from page 26 7 Hospital a few times each week. He arrives usually to a list of patients to see, where he and Bidwill are escorted room-to-room. Sometimes the patients want Barney on the bed; some want him at their bedside or to sit in the hallway with him. Sometimes doctors request him when they have trouble getting patients out of bed because Barney has a way of getting kids motivated when adults sometimes can’t. Bidwill says that Barney understands when patients are ill, and that he approaches some delicately. “He can sense that they are in a lot of pain,” says Bidwill. Barney also makes monthly visits to Circle the City, a medical respite center. During football season, Barney does community outreach with the Cardinals Football Club, which means a monthly stop at the Ronald McDonald House and many other events. Barney has been on the job of helping others for three years, and while it’s hard to say how long an average career span is for a therapy dog, for Barney, Bidwill explains, “as long as Barney enjoys it, we will keep doing it.” POLICE DOGS THE TOUGH GUYS Drugs, criminals, high-speed chases,   ˜     $    work like this. The ones that are, are cut from an elite cloth. Austin is a purebred Belgian Malinois who is originally from Europe. He belonged to a private breeder who uses dogs for trials and competitions. These dogs are bred to harness certain characteristics, personalities and drives that translate to police work. A trainer from California, who supplies potential police dogs, travels to Europe to purchase the dogs. He saw the hard-to-miss drive in Austin, and brought him back to the U.S. for further training. The Scottsdale Police Department,       departments travel to meet this dog trainer when they need a new dog on the force. By the time the departments meet, and analyze the dogs, they are two to three years old, and have been learning commands since they were pups. Austin’s human partner and handler, Tony Wells, traveled to California to Adlerhorst International, Inc., a K-9 training facility, for a six-week program where he learned how to handle and work with Austin on the job. For police dogs, it’s all about drive. Wells explains that they look for “play drive, prey drive and defense” in dogs.      $ &   &    toys. Prey mean how much they want to hunt and search, which is used when looking for suspects. Does he want to go out continuously? Lastly, “Defense drive: how much does he want to protect himself verses defend himself?” explains Wells. “We look for a happy medium of all three drives.” After training is complete, and the     by the National Police Canine Association for patrol and narcotic use, they head to local departments as the new guys, and take part in &   of training, in narcotics. These dogs are trained in all circumstances before they get into the patrol      real day on the job: They practice in dark buildings, with gunshots and in simulations that prepare them for real-life police work. The Scottsdale Police Department named Austin after Bill Austin, from the 99.9 KEZ Beth and Bill show, because —$     ~   the dog to the department. Austin is a dual-purpose dog. Meaning he can search and bite, and also sniff out drugs. Some dogs are used for one or the other. The police force uses positive reinforcement for training, which boils down to, if you do what we ask you to,   = ~      signals to Austin that he is supposed to look for drugs, and a separate toy to signal they are searching for a person. Austin works the night shift, from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. He is all muscle and energy, not a guy you want to rub the wrong way. His favorite thing to do is hunt for bad guys. He lights up whenever someone puts on his training bite sleeve. Austin will work until his body is unable to perform as well as the younger dogs, which is usually around 9 to 10 years old. At this time the handlers have the option to take in their partners, which Wells says happens most of the time. Looking for New Construction? We’ve Got Inventory! Looking to Sell Your Home and Think it may be Perfect for a Builder? Call Today and It Could be Sold Tomorrow! The Valley Leader in Residential Real Estate Year After Year Karen Lafferty 602.628.3842 karen@thejoffegroup.com KarenLafferty.net Dallas Peagler 602.821.9494 dallas@thejoffegroup.com DallasPeagler.com SOLD 3832 E. GLENROSA PENDING 4408 E. MITCHELL CALL FOR INFORMATION COMING SOON $639,000 Police dogs go through constant and rigorous training.