Gus was a Golden Retriever born on April 23, 1997. He was purchased to be a hunting dog and was sent to a trainer. Gus did not react well to this kind of training, and his owner was displeased, so Gus was taken to a Golden Retriever Rescue Group and left there. The Rescue Group tried valiantly to find Gus a home, but on each placement he was found too rambunctious to make a good house pet. Finally Gus was placed with Ann Frank of Novato, California, who recognized that he was a fine candidate for Search Dog training. Ann donated Gus to the NDSDF.
Gus and his handler, Dan Solis, did very well and reached Advanced FEMA certification on August 19, 2000. Only a few weeks after certification, however, Gus was diagnosed with leukemia, and given only a short time to live.
Gus never lost his will to search. Near the end of his life, Dan brought Gus to a training site. Even though Gus was weak and his fur had been shaved to facilitate medical treatment, Dan knew that Gus would be happiest if he could continue to do what he loved best: being a search dog. When Dan let Gus out of the car they were across the parking lot from another handler who was explaining to an observer what makes a good search dog. The handler, not knowing Gus and Dan were there, picked up a toy and threw it, to see if the observer’s dog would run after it. The dog was not interested. Imagine everyone’s surprise when Gus, from several yards away, streaked past the startled observer, grabbed the toy and immediately brought it back to the handler. That, the handler explained with tears in her eyes, is a search dog.
Thank you, Gus, for being <em>Part of the Search</em>.