Rainbow Bridge


Maxim (2009 - 2023)

Maxim (2009 – 2023)

In February 2011, Maxim was discovered by SDF volunteer Laura Rathe at the Humane Society of Del Norte in Crescent City, CA. Laura and her husband Wayne travel for SDF a couple of times a year to shelters along the Northern California coast and were lucky to come across Maxim on one of these trips in early 2011. Laura said that “he strutted into the yard with his tongue hanging out and instantly I saw that he had ‘it.’  This dog was confident, playful, and all about the business of engaging me in his world of ‘the ball.’ We knew we would be bringing him back with us before we really even got started with his evaluation.  Some dogs you just know…and Maxim was that dog.”

Maxim was transported to SDF’s Prep Kennel at the time in Castaic to begin his basic obedience and basic skills training with Kellee Matthews. Maxim is appropriately named, as he is a large Black Lab weighing approximately 80 pounds. Anyone who has been a handler knows that a dog of that size can be a lot to deal with, particularly when compounded with high energy and a toy-crazed fascination. A month later, Kellee passed Maxim along for his next level of training at Sundowners Kennel in Gilroy, where all SDF dogs were trained until 2012.

The trainers at Sundowners spent the next several months teaching Maxim how to use his size to his advantage during his formal search and rescue training. Maxim would sit as commanded and stare, drooling, at the toy in the trainer’s hand in anticipation of its toss in his direction as a reward for a job well done.

In February 2012, Maxim was paired with firefighter-handler Luis Garcia of Baja California Task Force 3 (BC-TF3). The two hit it off right away. An experienced SDF handler, Luis’ first Search Dog, Jazz, crossed the Rainbow Bridge back in 2010 after a seven-year career as Luis’ partner. Luis has been waiting a long time for a new working dog and commented several times on how Maxim reminded him of his Jazz.

Maxim and Luis returned to Baja California to continue daily training in preparation for deployments. Living outside the United States, SDF requests that Maxim and Luis maintain a deployment-readiness standard equivalent to that of our teams stateside. SDF teams in their region of the world deploy quite frequently as construction is not as regulated as it is here.

Luis and Maxim served together from 2012 through 2021 and over the years deployed 4 times with either their local fire department or BC-TF3:

  • November 23, 2013 – Flooding – Tijuana
  • November 21, 2014 – Building collapse – Tijuana
  • September 19, 2017 – Earthquake – Mexico City
  • March 25, 2019 – Building collapse – Tijuana

Upon retirement, Maxim enjoyed spending time with Luis and his family as a pet in their home. He continued to be a boisterous and happy guy, aging gracefully.

On August 12, 2023, Maxim peacefully crossed the Rainbow Bridge at 14 years of age. Luis and his family were understandably sad to say goodbye to their friend and furry family member, but appreciative of their time with him. Maxim will be remembered at SDF’s Canine Memorial Wall and we are grateful for his service to his community and the people of Mexico.