Kelsy

Last night, I woke up before dawn, and I couldn't fall back to sleep right away.  Kelsy sensed that I had turned over, and she moved over next to me, seeking warmth because the air was cool.  She laid her spine against my chest and her head on my arm.  My breath moved the short fur on the back of her neck and I could smell the slightly sweet, distinct scent of her ears.  I rubbed her chest, and she fell back asleep.  As she started to dream, her feet twitched, and I felt like I was right there with her in the dream.  I could almost tell which way she was moving in her dream by the relative amplitude of her rippling muscles.  Her neck would tremble as she turned one way or the other in her dream world.  I hoped that she felt my presence and that I was with her in her dream, keeping her safe.  Eventually, her dream subsided, and we both fell into a calm sleep.

Quite often, people ask me why I do this, volunteering my time to chase down a strange dog.  I do it because I love Kelsy.  I love all three of my dogs, Porter, Tess, and Kelsy, but with Kelsy I took advantage of the opportunity to give her a meaningful and fulfilling job, using her skills to help other animals.  It is just a game to her, most of the time, but other times I think she senses what is at stake.  The times she found the remains of deceased dogs, she behaved solemnly, as though she knew the full story of predator and prey, and how the scene unfolded on that spot.  She takes her job seriously, and she is frustrated when we can't continue the search because of property lines or because the dog was picked up.  In doing this work, Kelsy is leading a fuller life.  She still enjoys sleeping on a couch just as much as the other dogs, but I wonder if Porter and Tess are dreaming of cupcakes while Kelsy is dreaming of the search.  I wish I would have known about Missing Pet Partnership years ago, so I could have given all three dogs the chance to do this work.

When Kelsy and I work together, we are a team, a unit.  I am watching everything she does, paying attention to the slightest change in the angle of her head or the tension on the leash.  When a fresh scent hits her nose, the impulse travels right up the leash as if we are wired together.  As we search, we become one person.  Through repetition, through trial and error, we are both learning how to work a scent trail and how to decipher the tricky double-backs and overlapping loops.  I am learning how to communicate with her and how not to communicate with her to stay in the groove and work an ephemeral, invisible trail.  I am allowed to enter her world, to see the world through her eyes, and through her magnificent nose.

It's hard to imagine that anyone loves anyone as much as I love Kelsy, but it is possible.  I can imagine how crushing it would be if Kelsy were suddenly missing.  My life would come to a stop.  When people are missing their dogs, if they love them half as much as I love Kelsy, then I know how hard it is, and how desperately they want this member of their family back home, safe.  Because they've never met someone like me, someone who works with a scent dog to track lost dogs, people often ask me why I do it.  I do it because I love Kelsy, and because I understand that you might love your dog almost as much.  I do it because, if Kelsy were suddenly missing, I would want someone to help me.  If Kelsy were lost, I would give anything to find her.