ROBIN PELLETIER working with her air scent dog, Tru. They are both members of Clark County-based Evergreen Search Dogs. Courtesy of Melinda Oltmann
Through the coordinated efforts of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and search and rescue teams, a missing Battle Ground girl was located back with her family in May. It was trained air scent dog, Tru, who led deputies to the outbuilding where the 11-year-old girl was found safe.
Vancouver resident Robin Pelletier, Tru’s handler, is a member of the all-volunteer, Clark County-based search and rescue team, Evergreen Search Dogs.
“We were probably in our first area, we had worked probably an hour and half in that area, and then in this other area,’’ Pelletier said. “It took about 10-15 minutes, which was a pretty good search duration for Tru. He was tired at the end. I was very, very proud of how he did.”
Pelletier has had an interest in search and rescue for many years, but never felt she had the time to pursue it. With two other dogs at home, she was interested in acquiring a third. She was leaning toward dogs with working lines and found a breeder in St. Helens, OR, Tudorose Standard Poodles – that was having great success with poodles.
Tru is a 19-month-old Standard Poodle, who stands 21 inches at the withers and weighs just 40 pounds, which is on the smaller size for a Standard.
With the outdoor activities Pelletier engages in, she wanted a dog she could carry if need be and one who loves people. Tru ticks those boxes and more. At 7 weeks old, he was already showing tendencies toward his calling. Pelletier calls him “a nose with four legs” and said she had to figure out something to tire him out, so she started hiding old socks in the backyard to exhaust his brain.
“He had a tenacious work ethic and he wouldn’t stop until he found that thing,” Pelletier said.
From an obedience standpoint, Tru’s fondness for people is a bit tricky, but for a search and rescue dog, it’s an outstanding trait. The Sire comes from German lines and the Dam from American lines. Pelletier wanted him to remain au natural so keeping his dewclaws and full tail helps him retain a uniqueness about him.
When Tru was younger, he was put in every puppy class Pelletier could find. She finally concluded that he needed to be tested for search and rescue abilities. She found a man named Alan Murphy who works with Cascade Dogs Search and Rescue Unit. He put Tru through some testing and Pelletier and Tru practiced with Murphy’s team a couple of times from there.
Closer to home, she discovered Evergreen Search Dogs and spoke with the president, Dean Counts. They weren’t looking for air scent dogs at the time, but Counts said he’d take a look at his potential. At 10 months old, Tru was put through a series of hide-and- go-seek tests and performed so well that he earned a spot on the team.
His job is to find anybody in an area who’s not in his group. He’ll find the “lost’’ person, come back to his handler, bump her hand and then take off back to the person who’s “lost.” He continues this pattern of behavior until the handler is united with the “found” person. Pelletier says that he’s a bouncy, playful dog, but as soon has his working vest with a bell attached to it is put on him, his whole persona changes and he’s all business.
May 29 was his first live search. With all the excitement, tension and chaos around him, Tru performed exactly as he and Pelletier had practiced for hours and hours together. He ruled out the detectives and support staff on his team as the find, searched under cars and left chickens and horses alone. With an unwavering focus on his task at hand, he worked with his handler and support person, Brenda Wilson, to successfully locate a missing child.
Pelletier credits the entire Clark County team for their dedication to a successful outcome, but after all the practicing, the physical demands, the required classes as a human search and rescue volunteer and the dog work on top of it, her pride in Tru can not be denied.
“It’s magical watching it happen, I’ll tell you,” Pelletier said.
For more information on Evergreen Search Dogs or to become a volunteer, go to www. evergreensearchdogs.org.
