Manny, a male Border Collie, was born December 6, 1996. He was purchased by Bobbie Farquhar, the head of Border Collie Rescue (BCR), as a stud dog. But during his stay with BCR, he displayed all the characteristics of a disaster search dog. Bobbie called the Search Dog Foundation (SDF) and told founder Wilma Melville about this very special dog. Manny was evaluated, and showed he indeed had the makings to be a fine search dog.
Manny then came to live with Wilma and her late husband, John, in Ojai. He was a terrific dog, but the vivacious, high-strung Collie was wreaking havoc in a house full of Labradors! So Wilma came up with a plan – she paired Manny with new handler Ron Weckbacher to see if Ron could handle a dog like Manny. After a week, there was no doubt about it; Manny and Ron were made for each other.
Normally we find that we have the greatest success partnering our trained dogs with firefighters, police and other rescue personnel already poised to respond in disaster situations. In Manny’s case, an exception was made. Ron was very serious about becoming an SDF handler, was very persistent, and he turned out to be a perfect match for Manny.
Manny and Ron worked so well together as a team that they attained their Advanced Certification from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within 14 months of training together. They continued to train every week with the other SDF canine handlers in their Training Group, where Ron was the Training Group Leader.
On September 11, 2001, Manny and Ron were one of 13 SDF teams that were called to serve in recovery efforts at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center in New York City. At the time, Manny and Ron were in Washington State with seven other SDF teams for a FEMA class. Unfortunately, when all commercial flights were cancelled on 9/11, they were stranded there and were unable to deploy with their own Los Angeles City Task Force. Showing their dedication to being a Canine Disaster Search Team, Ron and Manny drove back to LA with the other SDF teams also stranded, just so they could be reassigned to another Task Force.
The conditions at Ground Zero were extremely challenging for all teams involved. It’s hard to imagine the incredible amount of debris that had to be searched, including twisted metal and sharp, hot slabs of concrete. The terrain was very treacherous and demanding at times and recovery workers were continually breathing in dust and smoke. But the training that is required of all SDF teams more than prepared them for the challenges they faced. Our dogs truly enjoy the search—you could even say they thrive on it! Ron and Manny searched the rubble for twelve hours at a time. Between shifts, handlers took time to care for the dogs and were able to catch a few hours sleep. At the end of the ordeal the teams were exhausted, but honored to have served their country in this great time of need.
Manny and Ron have proven their dedication as a team time and time again in deployments that include a train derailment in Commerce City, California, and the Winter Olympics in 2002. In January of 2005, they were sent along with eight other SDF teams to help with rescue efforts at a deadly mudslide in La Conchita, California. Later that year, they were deployed to assist with rescue efforts in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Manny retired in December of 2006 after eight years of service with Ron. Manny spent his retirement years relaxing at home with Ron and his family in Thousand Oaks, California.
Sadly, in April of 2009, Manny passed away with Ron by his side. He was an amazing dog who set the bar high for all search teams to follow. He will be greatly missed by all who knew or worked with him.