Team Info
Task Force: Nebraska Task Force 1 (NE-TF1)
Agency: Lincoln Fire-Rescue
Level: Certified
Search Dog Info
Breed: Labrador Retriever
Sex: Male
Born: December 6, 2020
Recruited from Next Step Service Dogs
Sponsor: Arc Aspicio
Archie was donated to Next Step Service Dogs when he was ten weeks old and lived with puppy raisers while he matured. Upon meeting Archie to evaluate him for their program, Next Step’s Program Director noted that he had so much energy and drive that he might be headed for the wrong career! She reached out to SDF to evaluate him, and it was determined that he definitely had search dog potential.
At our National Training Center, Archie lived up to expectations. This big, boisterous yellow Lab absolutely loves to bark, and he progressed through his alert on barrels and three-barrel searches in record time. Although he initially struggled a little with the chunkier parts of the rubble pile, he worked through his challenges quickly and is now completely confident searching rubble.
Trainers were impressed with how quickly Archie picked up new skills as he developed into a well-rounded search dog. Archie graduated training and was paired with Samantha Wilkins of Lincoln Fire & Rescue and Nebraska Task Force 1 (NE-TF1), on March 4, 2023.
As a child, Samantha wanted to be a veterinarian, but besides the daunting amount of schooling it would take to complete veterinary school, she wasn’t sure she could face the challenges and heartbreak of being a vet. Her father is a firefighter with the Omaha Fire Department, so she decided to see if that career might be a fit. While on probation with the fire department, she met Damon Wirth, an SDF canine handler, and decided to pursue becoming a canine handler herself.
Samantha’s training at SDF was her first experience with working dogs, and her first impression of Archie was that he was A LOT of dog. Archie is very high-energy and loud, and Samantha immediately fell in love with him. After only a couple of sessions with him, she felt connected and hoped they would become partners.
Learning about working dogs and training with them was Samantha’s most exciting part of the process. Although she’s a lifelong dog lover and grew up with dogs, she realized through the handler’s course that there was so much more she needed to know, and she’s excited to continue learning and growing her experience with Archie by her side.
Archie joins Samantha and her dog, Melody, at his new home and enjoys going on walks and playing ball. Melody and Archie are good friends most of the time, although sometimes Archie’s energy and antics can be a little much for middle-aged Melody. Archie has already adjusted well to his new home, and Samantha is looking forward to introducing him to her NETF-1 team and her crew at work.
The next step for these new partners is to keep training together to achieve FEMA certification so they can deploy with their task force. Samantha is excited to visit new training areas to gain more experience on different types of terrain and looks forward to having fun and growing her relationship with Archie in their career together.