Petey proves he’s an honor student in the Search and Service program.
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Hi all, David Dickson here. I just have to say something real quick — sometimes it’s really fun working at Best Friends! My kids certainly think so, too.
One of the things I have loved most about working at Best Friends is the simple act of getting to meet and play with the animals I write about. They sure make it fun to come up with the stories. And this week my kids got to join me in a memorable training activity for the latest Search and Service star at Best Friends.
Petey has been a top notch student in the Search and Service program since the very beginning. The training sessions are his favorite time of the day, no question. He’s conquered everything from forested areas to rubble piles. With his boundless energy and excitement, nothing was too big a challenge. Then again, he’d never tried finding children before. …
When Best Friends’ animal behavior specialist Sherry Woodard told me how important it is to keep trying new things with these dogs, we wondered together how Petey might do with finding children, which led to chatting about the possibilities of bringing my daughters over for a training session. As for my kids, they were thrilled at the idea of playing hide and seek with a dog, especially if it would help the dog learn some new skills. So we decided to give it a whirl!
This was a big jump for Petey. Not only has he never tried finding children before, he’s never tried finding three people at once either. The girls and I would hunker down behind some pile of rocks or other, and then Sherry would turn Petey loose with, "Go search!"
Here’s where Petey did a double-take. He had no problems finding us, but once he did, he didn’t seem to realize we were the correct target. You could see the wheels turning in his head as he found three people instead of only one. "Um, they already have their own support network, here. Surely they don’t need little ol’ me?"
I was holding his favorite toy, my girls were giggling, and then I started calling, "Here Petey!" as instructed. It took him a moment or two to process everything, but he got the concept in the end.
In other attempts, though, Petey decided to find Jason behind the video camera, or Sarah the photographer who was also standing by. And a couple times he even found my wife April in our car nearby. (She came to watch.) You might think he seemed a bit confused, but I’m sure Petey likes to think he was just doing extra credit. He found everybody in the area more than once. Surely that’s worth an A+!
When all was said and done, Petey did indeed rescue us from our dire predicament. We’d have for sure been lost forever behind that rock pile if not for him. Such a hero! My girls and I had a blast, and Petey got to discover something new. (Not to mention all the belly rubs and yummy treats.) We already plan to do more of these training sessions, along with socializing, so that he can continue to work on this new and fascinating frontier — kids! Hey if it helps save lives, I guess somebody has to do it. …
Story by David Dickson
Photo by Sarah Ause
You too can be a part of the Search and Service program by donating items on the wish list.
