Cappy, a sturdy, energetic Black Labrador Retriever was born on January 13, 2000 to a line of champion competition field dogs. When Ray Goodrich adopted him, Cappy seemed destined to carry on the family tradition.
But Ray quickly realized that Cappy’s talents and temperament lay in another direction. Cappy’s physical prowess, coupled with his strong prey drive and intelligence, made him a perfect candidate for the Search Dog Foundation. He was also trusting, well-mannered and related well to his human companions—all vital attributes for a dog who would be expected to work closely with a human partner for long hours in dangerous conditions. When Ray offered him to SDF, we accepted gratefully.
Although Cappy’s initial evaluation proved that he had “The Right Stuff,” acceptance into the program was only the beginning. Cappy was immediately sent off to Sundowners Kennel for several months of training to give him the specialized skills he would need to be a Disaster Search Dog. Upon successful completion of his training, he was ready to be partnered.
Great care is always taken in the assignment of partners. Both dog and handler are evaluated and teamed up based on working styles and temperaments. Occasionally a pairing between a canine and handler does not work out for a variety of reasons, and this is what happened with Cappy’s first assignment. But SDF is committed to finding just the right partner for all of our canines, so Cappy was next assigned to Captain Gary Smith of the Ventura County Fire Department. Gary was no newcomer to the program. He’d already had a successful partnership with a charming, great-hearted dog called Kelly. After ten years of active duty as a disaster search canine, Kelly had retired, but continued to serve as a training dog, helping to teach new handlers until her death in April of 2006.
After months of hard work and training together, Gary and Cappy received FEMA Basic Certification in June of 2005. It wasn’t an easy accomplishment. Along with basic search and rescue skills, Cappy had to become accustomed to the stresses of rapid and extended deployment. He had to learn to be comfortable traveling, sleeping in tents, working long hours in rough conditions, and mingling with strangers. Included in his preparation was participation in the SDF’s Iron Dog Competition—a tough, five-day training exercise that simulates a deployment, and exposes the dogs and their handlers to the types of conditions they can expect to deal with in the field. Cappy came through it like a trouper, and Gary didn’t do too badly either!
Gary and Cappy were deployed to Houston in September of 2005 to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita. Gary and Cappy trained with SDF’s Ventura/Santa Barbara training group consistently throughout their career, but finally decided in August 2010 that it was time for both to retire. After 30 years with the Ventura County Fire Department, 13 of which were spent training with Search Dogs, Gary and Cappy moved to Fairfield, Virginia to enjoy their retirement years.
Sadly, Cappy became gravely ill and, after taking him to the vet, it was determined that Cappy had a large tumor in his stomach that had grown very quickly and was untreatable. With his partner of seven years by his side, Cappy passed away at the vet’s office on June 1, 2011.