A Dog's Devotion: True Adventures of a K9 Search and Rescue Team
- Downloads：3330
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-10-26 19:21:34
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Suzanne Elshult
- ISBN：1493068717
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
This is an inside view of a remarkable K9 search and rescue team operating in the wilds of Washington State whose "principal investigator" is a yellow lab named Keb。 Keb's story is of a dedicated K9 who can distinguish the scent of the dead from the scent of the living， and who can detect buried bones and even corpses underwater。 Readers will follow this intrepid K9 and her teammates as they face the challenges of changeable weather， deep northwest forests， high mountain slopes， and menacing coyotes， to find dead bodies， missing hikers， and even the bones of murder victims from long ago。 Among their successes: finding multiple victims buried by the 2014 Oso Landslide， solving the mysterious disappearance of women in wealthy suburbs， and finding human bones thought to be forever lost to time。 It's their story about evolving as search and rescue volunteers while overcoming harsh conditions， inner demons， and a rust-bound bureaucracy。 This is a unique， first-hand visit into the little-known world of dedicated SAR volunteers who find their purpose while searching for the lost and the dead。 It will also appeal to anyone fascinated by how rescue K9s are raised， trained， and deployed in service to law enforcement under difficult conditions。
Reviews
Nikki
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I have always been fascinated by K-9 rescue teams。 What they do; what they put themselves and their dogs through is nothing short of heroic。 Everytime they embark on a rescue， they are risking their lives and the lives of their beloved dogs。 Sometimes that danger is apparent and immediate， and sometimes it comes creeping in years later。So， I really， really wanted to like this book。 I kept reading， hoping that the next chapter， or the next mission， would be better， but that never happened。 The wr I have always been fascinated by K-9 rescue teams。 What they do; what they put themselves and their dogs through is nothing short of heroic。 Everytime they embark on a rescue， they are risking their lives and the lives of their beloved dogs。 Sometimes that danger is apparent and immediate， and sometimes it comes creeping in years later。So， I really， really wanted to like this book。 I kept reading， hoping that the next chapter， or the next mission， would be better， but that never happened。 The writing is so choppy。 It doesn't flow， it doesn't pull you in， it doesn't paint the picture of what is happening。 Suzanne's sections tend to be longer and are more frustrating because of these issues。 It's like she is delivering a report; not telling a story。 I never got a good sense of who she was。 She goes off on tangents that distract from the stories， and adds in random sidebars that don't bring anything to the narrative。 Guy's sections are easier to read， but that is because they are so much shorter and to the point。 They still don't flow， and they still sound like a report being given， but they are not as irritating as Suzanne's sectionsI think that both of these people， and all of the K-9s， are heroes。 They make a difference with every mission， and with every hour of training that they do。 However， these two heroes are not writers， and I think this book would have been much better had they used a co-writer。 Good stories about K-9 rescue teams will stand the test of time because they show momentous actions by a very small， dedicated group of people and their dogs。 This one will not join that group， not because the subjects aren't worthy， but because the stories are not well-written。 It's a shame， but it is what it is。 。。。more
Paul
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I learned a lot reading this。 The first hand accounts are interesting。 Anyone can enjoy this， including those considering working in a k9 unit。 I really appreciate the free ARC for review！！
Susan
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This is a really good effort by Suzanne Elshult。 My life's work is centered around canines and my love for them。 I think sometimes working with them can be romanticized a bit。 It's hard work and it is not just playing with dogs all day。 This book does a wonderful job showing the reality of dog-related jobs and specifically search and rescue。The flow is not always perfect but I think that comes with someone who is a rescuer first and a writer second。 This book shows the feeling of finding someone This is a really good effort by Suzanne Elshult。 My life's work is centered around canines and my love for them。 I think sometimes working with them can be romanticized a bit。 It's hard work and it is not just playing with dogs all day。 This book does a wonderful job showing the reality of dog-related jobs and specifically search and rescue。The flow is not always perfect but I think that comes with someone who is a rescuer first and a writer second。 This book shows the feeling of finding someone who didn't make it out of a disaster。 It shows the hope of finding someone who is still alive。 It shows how often you may turn up with nothing on some days。 It shows the triumph of the dog when they alert to a potential victim/survivor location and the pride you feel when you find out those alerts have paid off and the emergency workers were able to find something to either give a family closure or reunite them with a loved one。I have the utmost respect for the people who dedicate so much time and endure such rough conditions all to save someone they likely don't know and never will know personally。 This book definitely needed to be written and I'm so glad that Suzanne gave us this gift。 。。。more
Kelly Long
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review。Dogs are the best。 And combining well trained search and rescue dogs with their handlers and other pros， they make a great team。 Each of the stories in this book show different types of searches the teams participated in。 The pictures were definitely an added bonus。 I live vicariously through these SARS teams and their amazing dogs。
Linden
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Suzanne and her dog Keb do search and rescue in Washington state。 I learned that there are different kinds of search dogs。 There are some trained to alert on human remains。 Air scent dogs “find airborne particles carrying the scent of humans，” searching large areas from 50-100 acres， while trailing dogs follow a scent from， for example， a piece of the missing person’s clothing。 Suzanne takes us through her and her S&R dog Keb’s grueling assignments， such as looking for survivors of a landslide， Suzanne and her dog Keb do search and rescue in Washington state。 I learned that there are different kinds of search dogs。 There are some trained to alert on human remains。 Air scent dogs “find airborne particles carrying the scent of humans，” searching large areas from 50-100 acres， while trailing dogs follow a scent from， for example， a piece of the missing person’s clothing。 Suzanne takes us through her and her S&R dog Keb’s grueling assignments， such as looking for survivors of a landslide， or searches for murder victims and missing hikers。 The amazing thing is that these S&R teams are volunteers; no one is paid for the time and effort they put in for searches and training。 Unfortunately， some of the teams have a lot of drama， as people who think they have the best dogs or the best training ideas clash with others--very disappointing for those who just want to help， and not be drawn into politics and power struggles。 Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this ARC。 。。。more
Valerity （Val）
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