WINDSOR TOWNSHIP —
Big dogs, small dogs — German Shepherds, Labradors and some that could only be classified as mutts — which ones make great pets and which ones can be trained for community service, to search for and find a missing person?
Lynn Heff walked up and down the long rows of kennels at the Ashtabula County Animal Protective League in Kingsville Township, asking herself that question while looking for a dog that had that certain something: The focus, drive and intelligence to serve in the Windsor Township Fire Department Canine Search and Rescue team.
The Windsor Township Fire Department Canine Search and Rescue team is the only dog search and rescue in Ashtabula County.
“I can’t tell you what I was looking for in a dog,” she said. “But when I saw Holly, I just knew she had it in her. She was one of the few dogs not barking and jumping at the cage when I walked up. She just looked at me, made good eye contact and she seemed very focused.”
A Windsor firefighter, Heff and Windsor Fire Chief David Turk both adopted shelter dogs as prospective search and rescue canines and are now in the year-long process of training the dogs.
Former Windsor fire captain and lead dog handler Michael Uhase said the department can’t afford purebred dogs and the handlers have found trained mixed breeds to be just as talented at locating missing persons.
“There are just so many dogs in kennels, homeless,” he said. “You have to look carefully and know what it is you want in a dog’s personality, but you can usually find a talented canine at a shelter.”
So Uhase, Heff and Turk took a trip to the APL, where they found Holly and Turk’s new canine partner, Buddy.
“It amazes me that so many search and rescue teams will purchase very expensive purebred dogs for thousands of dollars when there are so many dogs in shelters across the country just waiting to be adopted,” Uhase said. “Besides, even when you purchase a dog, you don’t know if it will work out. There are a lot of factors to consider and just because a dog is purebred doesn’t mean it’s meant for search and rescue.”
Uhase said two of the fire department’s search and rescue canines — both rescued as strays — were ready for retirement.
“We sort of looked around and decided the APL is loaded with dogs. We just decided to take a walk through the shelter and we found Buddy and Holly,” he said.
Heff said she is thrilled with Holly as a pet and as a service dog.
“She’s high energy, that’s for sure,” Heff said. “Both of the dogs are amazing. They are learning fast and training well. I’m learning so much from her.”
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Related Photos
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WARREN DILLAWAY / Star Beacon DAVID TURK, Windsor fire chief, and his dog, Buddy, stand with Linn Hess, and her, dog Holly. The pair were rescued from the Animal Protective League shelter and are being trained as rescue dogs.
Discussion
Rescued dogs will do their own rescuing
Windsor canine team snubs pure-breds for animals from APL
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