Hi All:
Several years ago many of you met Cherokee, a German Shepherd Dog, I raised for Leader Dogs for the Blind. Because of a slight elbow problem he couldn’t work in that field and I got to keep him. I thought some of you might be interested in how his life is going.
Cherokee is certified by the University of Tennessee as a HABIT (Human Animal Bonding in Tennessee) dog. As such, volunteers stop by my office three days a week and take him on visits to local nursing homes and hospitals. His really fun day is on Monday when he works in a local second grade in the RUFF Reading program. The kids get to read to him and he does his best to stay awake and be attentive. In his HABIT role, the University of Tennessee has selected him as their representative in a Bite Prevention Program and video.
He had some spare time on his paws so I launched him off into Search and Rescue. Three months or so ago he got his national certification as an Area Search dog. On his qualification search he located a hidden subject in 60 acres of wooded terrain in 15 minutes.
The past 2 months have been dedicated to training him in Human Remains Detection where he routinely found targets containing as little as 2 – 3 drops of human blood. Yesterday he tested for and passed his national certification. The test took place in three different one-acre plots. The first was a target containing less than .1 ounce of human remains elevated approximated 4 feet. This took four minutes. The second was a surface target covered with leaves and consumed almost three minutes. The final and most difficult was a target buried for over 24 hours at a depth of 18 inches. This required a little over six minutes.
Thanks for indulging me in this. I had to brag about the boy.
Roy
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Originally Posted by GOS_Queen
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