Max was found as a stray in Weber County, UT, and placed with Weber County Animal Services, where he was adopted and returned due to his high energy. His adopters shared that he was a very nice dog during the brief time Max was with them. He got along great with their kids and their other dog; they just could not handle his energy level – they were hoping for a mellow, family dog.
Luckily, an SDF canine recruiter saw Max and recognized his potential as a search dog candidate. Max stood staring from his kennel with a tennis ball in his mouth as if to say, “Hey, I hear you’re looking for a high drive Lab!”
Once in the search program, Max’s hunt and focus were good when working indoors, but he struggled to maintain his concentration and intensity off-leash outdoors. The training team spent time working with him to improve his focus, but it soon became apparent that disaster search was not his calling. Max’s love of hunting and excellent work ethic on-leash made his pathway plan clear: Max would thrive as a single-purpose detection dog for law enforcement.
Max entered our Lifetime Care Program, and we contacted Scenturion K9, one of our career change partners that trains dogs for careers in detection. On the day we dropped him off, Max immediately went to ‘work.’ He ran right into the empty house (the narcotics detection version of a rubble pile) and scoped out the whole place. Of course, he didn’t find anything, but that’s when the head trainer knew he would be perfect for their program. Max was soon partnered with his new handler and together they certified in explosives detection as part of the University of California at Irvine Police Department. We always look forward to updates from Max’s partner, and, as with all our Lifetime Care dogs, we’ll continue to stay in touch to ensure Max has everything he needs to remain happy, healthy, and fulfilled.