Payback (The Canine Handler Book 1)

by Hillegas, Maria

  “Sam looks fine,” Kellee stated after she gave him a cursory inspection.

  “Gunner has blood on his front right paw. He won’t let me look at it. Can you hold him still for me, Dave?” Sarah asked.

  “Sure, anything!” It was easy to tell that Dave was concerned, but wasn’t sure what to do.

  “Grab him by the collar and wrap your other arm around his chest like this,” Sarah gave a quick demonstration.

  Stooping over Gunner, Dave held the dog by the collar with one hand and held onto his right leg with the other.

  “That’ll work.” Sarah bent down to inspect the pad on his paw closely. Gunner wriggled in Dave’s grip.

  “Settle,” Sarah said with clenched teeth giving her meanest sounding command she could conjure up. She needed the dog to stay still so she could work on him. Gunner stopped moving for a moment but wasn’t fazed by her tone and then tried to pull backwards out of Dave’s hold.

  “Yo, Gunner,” Dave started a one-sided conversation with the dog. That seemed to calm Gunner and he remained stationary.

  “There’s blood coming from this right pad.” She took out a small bag from her pack. From that she pulled out saline, an antibiotic ointment and vet wrap. “It looks like a small puncture, maybe from a sticker or a twig.”

  Sarah cleaned the wound by flushing it, adding ointment and wrapping a thin piece of vet wrap around the paw to prevent dirt from entering the area.

  “I know that won’t last long, but I still want to see if it will stay on for a while,” she said referring to the bandage. Gunner would tear it off eventually with the way he dove through the brush and pushed off the ground.

  “It’s better than nothing. I’ll help you clean it out and rewrap it when we return to base,” Kellee offered.

  With great relief, Sarah re-started the dogs on their task. Terrible thoughts had run through her head when she’d heard her dog cry out. It brought back thoughts from long ago and memories of what she had witnessed him inflict upon animals. Not just animals, but humans as well. Some of the memories were vivid and clear while others she’d barely hung onto. Sarah questioned her sanity, wondering why she was participating in a mission to rescue that asshole.

  The search team was now on their sixth long sweep. As they headed back west, the terrain had begun to transform. The neatly planted stands of soft pine gave way to mixed forested trees that provided a canopy. Common hardwood trees shaded most of the area, keeping the light from reaching the dark rich soil.

  In areas along the edges of the trail where the sun could reach, abundant dense scrub brush, consisting of sticker bushes and vines had grown thick and tall like a wall between the woods and the trail. The women had to pull out their small bypass pruners from their packs. They used them to cut holes through brush patches, making it easier to get through without getting hung up or caught on sticker bushes. Once out on the trail, it was open and clear, part of the bridle path system along the main trail that the park kept maintained for equestrians. But the search team was running sweeps perpendicular to the trail so at this point it wasn’t an advantage.

  “A machete would have come in handy today!” Dave quipped as he stood by and watched the women cut through the sticker bushes once again. “I would help out, but forgot my pruners today,” he teased.

  “Oh, no problem, we women are used to doing all of the work,” Sarah kidded back.

  The middle of their search sector was more open and had better visibility. It would have been easier to traverse but they were now heading up an incline on the side of a large hill and ravine. The three searchers were wearing down, fatigued. It had been a long couple of days. Normally a hill wouldn’t be a problem, but it was soggy and slippery from the recent storms.

  “Great,” Sarah commented with a bit of edge in her voice.

  Sarah could hear the dogs’ bells; sound traveled further in the open woods. Occasionally she caught sight of their bright orange vests as the dogs went flying by in the distance. When they were thirsty, they would come in to Sarah and bang into the water bottle she kept hanging from her waist. The team continued to take breaks as needed to make sure the dogs were well-hydrated and relaxed. Sarah added electrolytes to the dogs’ water as well to help keep their system balanced and to replenish their energy reserves.

  The search party had just begun their sweep across the bottom slope of the large rise. They were nearing their northern boundary, which was 100 meters past the crest of the hill. Kellee readjusted her compass bearing so the searchers could walk the side of the gradient at an angle to make it less physically demanding.

  Kellee looked up to set a point to traverse to and caught a glimpse of Gunner.

  “Sarah,” Kellee whispered as she walked closer to Sarah.

  “Hunh?” she responded looking in Kellee’s direction. Kellee pointed to where Gunner was.

  Sarah witnessed the dog suddenly snap his head back as he was running across the side of the hill. It was a telltale sign that he had caught human scent which differed from the scent of the three searchers who trekked after him.

  The dog had stopped and now stood along the hillside. Dave watched the women from where he stood. He followed their gaze. Sarah and Kellee remained silent so they wouldn’t cause Gunner to look back at them. They didn’t want to disrupt his concentration. Sarah motioned to Dave and put her finger to her mouth to make sure he stayed quiet. Then she put her hand in the air to signal to him to stay planted where he was. Dave nodded that he understood.

  While the search party stayed silent, they watched the dog work. Gunner closed his mouth and stuck his snout up into the air. The dog had located another human’s scent. His body seemed larger, his tail flagged straight up from his back. There wasn’t any doubt he was trying to figure out where this new human smell was coming from. Gunner continued to suck in deep breaths as he concentrated on the scent picture.

  Sarah could tell without fail he was working hard. She knew the dog’s body language well. He was speaking volumes that he had picked up a new and different human scent that hadn’t already been on his radar system.

  Sarah was elated. It made her forget, at least for a bit, who the subject was and just allow herself to be in the moment. Watching all of her hard work and training unfurl was beyond words, especially when working in her favorite environment.

  Gunner stood up on his hind legs trying to catch more of the “scent picture.” He sniffed the ground and checked out a few trees near where he had originally caught the scent. The dog moved back and forth across the hillside, stopping in the same area and lifting his snout to the sky again to sniff.

  Sarah looked up the hill, thinking the scent must be rolling down the incline instead of rising up as it should be doing during the heat of the sun. But there’s a lot of canopy from the trees making this area shady. Maybe that’s throwing a variable into the scent picture.

  During daylight hours, scent should rise with the heat and sun. But during early morning hours and late evening hours and nighttime, scent had a tendency to hug the ground and not rise up any higher.

  Kellee whispered, “Chimney effect.” Sarah nodded in agreement.

  Sarah pulled her powder out of her pocket, squeezed off a few puffs and watched as it was sucked up a few feet vertically, moved several feet laterally and then dropped several more feet away. A light bulb went off in Sarah’s head. The scent must be further up the hill. It’s being carried from its origin and then being dropped over the side where Gunner is picking it up.

  Dogs “see” scent through their nose. As the air pours over their olfactory, the dog can differentiate what that scent is and break down all of the scents into the specific items. Their noses are 100,000 times more sensitive than a human’s nose. They can discriminate each detail of every item.

  Sarah kept her eye on Gunner as he persisted in trying to work out the scent problem. When a dog hits on or encounters scent from air flow that’s experiencing a chimney effect, it presents a difficult picture for
the canine to figure out. When faced with such difficulties, there were a couple ways the canine handler could manage the situation. Either they could get involved and try to send the dog out further, or they could stay out of the problem and just encourage the dog to continue to try and work it out.

  Sarah usually chose the latter, especially when it involved Gunner. She didn’t like to intervene if she didn’t have to. She didn’t want to influence her dog in any way. Sometimes if a handler got too involved, they created other unwanted behaviors in their attempt to shortcut the process.

  Both of her dogs had the stamina and work ethic to continue to try anything to find the source of the scent. But ultimately, it was the dog’s deep desire for the reward he would receive for locating and pinpointing the scent source that drove him. That was the main reason the dog was so committed. It was a means to Gunner’s favorite toy and play session with Sarah—and he wouldn’t quit until he’d solved the puzzle.

  The searchers were closing in on the western border as they finished their sixth sweep. This had put them close to the main trail and bridle path. While all three continued to watch Gunner closely, Sarah caught Sam in her peripheral vision. The dog was running toward the main trail with his nose close to the ground. She watched him circle around in a small open area and go back to the trail. Sam appeared to be very interested in a track. He was intently checking it out. The hair along the back of Sam’s spine had risen. It stood up from the nape of his neck to the base of his tail line. A tell-tale sign that Sam had also found human scent.

  Each dog had their own natural body alerts that Sarah intimately knew and understood. Sam was a more serious dog than Gunner and could sometimes be more cautious when closing in on a missing subject. He tended to be more aloof.

  Sarah looked over at Kellee, pointed at Sam and smiled. Kellee returned the smile, acknowledging that the dog was no doubt on human scent and following a hot track. There was no uncertainty in Sarah’s mind. Trust your dog, she thought as she tried to keep an eye on Sam who was following the trail. She had complete and total confidence in both of her dogs’ working ability and devotion to their job.

  “Can you tie flagging tape off to that tree?” Sarah whispered to Kellee pointing at a nearby hardwood. Kellee nodded and pulled the roll of tape from her pocket. By tying a strip of flagging tape off at this point, they would know where to return if they had to resume the search from where they left off. There could be a number of reasons the team might have to return to this point in their sweep: if the dogs followed up on human scent but couldn’t locate the subject, or if the missing subject was on the move and possibly no longer in their sector.

  Turning to Dave, Sarah asked, “Can you check the GPS coordinates and call them into base? Let them know that the dogs have both picked up human scent and are showing natural body alerts. Advise base that we are following up on the dogs’ alerts.”

  “Got it.”

  Dave pulled his GPS out and started his transmission. He let base camp know all the pertinent information. He told management he would update them once they had followed up with the dogs.

  Search management also cleared the radio line which meant they were on standby waiting for Team Echo to get back to them with whatever information they were able to find. Other search teams would only call in if they had clues, an emergency or had located the search subject. There would be no radio checks, safety checks or unnecessary transmissions during this time.

  Once Kellee had the flagging tape tied in place, she pulled out her black permanent marker and recorded the date, their team name and coordinates on it. She was excited as well—hard not to be when a dog hit human scent and went into major alert mode.

  “Can you follow Sam?” Sarah asked Kellee, “while Dave and I follow up with Gunner?” Sarah was almost breathless, her excitement obvious.

  “Yep. Call me on the FRS radio if we get separated. Let me know where you are,” Kellee asked.

  “Okay, will do.”

  Kellee took off in the direction of Sam and the trail. Dave followed after Sarah as she headed up the hill where Gunner was working.

  Gunner continued to work back and forth on the hillside near the top of the incline. He tried to stand up on his hind legs and use a low tree branch to support himself, sniffing the air higher off the ground. After a few more attempts of intense nose work, the dog appeared to figure out what direction the scent was coming from. He took off toward the crest of the hill in a direct line.

  Sarah’s anxiety level went into overdrive. “Hurry, we’re gonna lose him,” Sarah yelled to Dave. She turned around just in time to see Gunner head over the top of the hill and disappear from sight.

  Chapter 24

  Sarah

  Sarah was in a panic. The dog had solved the direction in which the scent was coming from and now was on a mission to get to the source of the scent.

  Breathing heavy, Sarah and Dave sprinted after where they had last seen Gunner. It was tough terrain, straight up a steep, wet incline. The loamy soil was deep and slippery. Finally busting through the trees, Sarah let branches whip back. They caught Dave in the face as he followed close behind.

  Winded after barely making it to the top, Sarah shouted, “Wait.” Dave stopped in his tracks. They had completely lost sight of Gunner. The dog must have taken off swiftly in the direction of the scent source. He could really move quickly when he wanted to. It had been much easier for Gunner to make the ascent and continue moving toward his target.

  Sarah couldn’t hear the dog’s bell; she wasn’t sure which direction he had gone. They stood still for a long moment and listened. There it is! She heard Gunner’s ring tone. Instant relief. She pointed off to the northeast, but before they could move, the bell stopped again.

  Another wave of panic set in. She remembered who they were searching for and immediately feared for her dog. Sarah saw Dave unclip the top of his leather gun holster. Does he know more than he’s letting on? Sarah wondered. Their eyes met, still holding their stance, listening and waiting. Suddenly a dog could be heard barking in the distance.

  “Gunner! It’s Gunner!” Sarah choked out. “He’s found someone! That direction,” Sarah pointed as she took off running.

  Dave followed close behind. They could barely make out the sound of a dog barking furiously in the distance. Sarah was confident he had made a find—a human find. But she couldn’t know who, at least not yet.

  She was frantic. She wanted to get to Gunner as quickly as possible. Sarah silently feared for her dog. Images from years past crept into her mind again as she thought of the missing asshole and his capabilities.

  Holding her breath as she ran, her head became dizzy. Stop it! This is craziness. Mentally, she tried to regroup. She didn’t want Dave to see her unwind. Breathe deep. The dogs need you in a solid mental and stable condition. The dogs would be able to tell if she was not at her best. They would question her leadership role in their relationship. Gunner and Sam would feed off her nervous vibes and might not work as well. The dogs depended on her to take control of the situation. They needed her to be confident and be there to reward them if they made a find.

  Once they had topped the hill, the woods had given way to a more open forest, dotted with a few large, mature hardwoods. There was very little scrub or underbrush. Several young saplings had taken advantage of the area. The forest floor was covered with rotting leaves from the previous autumn.

  Sarah stopped again to listen. She looked around and observed the area for a moment. Remembering the first rule was to keep yourself safe, Don’t rush in, crossed her mind. Make sure the area is safe. She looked around in a full 360 degrees and listened. She didn’t see anything suspicious or signs of would-be danger. She could only hear Gunner as he continued to bark. His voice was becoming rougher and raspy. It sounded like he was putting everything he had into his indication.

  Dave and Sarah took off in the direction of Gunner’s barks. As they closed the distance between themselves and the dog, Sara
h could just see Gunner’s bright orange vest through the shorter and sparser trees. She could partially make out a barking and bouncing German Shepherd as he pounced off his front feet with every bark. The dog was on the other side of a very large, downed tree. The old hardwood partly blocked their view of Gunner.

  Sarah could make out the dog’s head and top of his back, but she couldn’t see who or what was the subject of Gunner’s indication. Whoever or whatever it was, was lying on the other side of the tree as well.

  As Sarah and Dave closed in, Sam headed across the top of the hill from the main trail. He ran parallel to the crest following a hot track. His nose was down to the ground tracking whoever lay on the other side of the downed tree where Gunner was parked.

  Kellee, out of breath, had slowed down to a jog trying to keep up with Sam. Sam was moving too fast. He made it to the downed tree, circled it and came running toward Sarah. He took a flying leap at her torso and bounced off her chest. Making eye contact with Sarah, Sam took off back to the tree. Gunner’s attention and indication never faltered as Sam came back and circled once more.

  Jumping up on Sarah was Sam’s indication that he had found someone. Instead of barking and staying with the subject as Gunner did, Sam did a recall, re-find as his indication to make sure Sarah was paying attention to him. He was telling his handler, “Follow me.”

  Both indications were natural behaviors that the dogs presented while in training. Sarah just brought the behaviors out more in-depth, and rewarded Sam and Gunner when they offered them naturally. She had allowed the dogs to use their own “strong points” and cemented them until they were proven and reliable. Gunner unsurprisingly was a barker and Sam loved to jump, so inherently, the actions worked well.