On October 20, 2000 a black and white bundle of furry energy was born that would later become a part of SDF’s first international team from the Mexican State of Baja California, based in Tijuana.
Tinker—as this intelligent, energetic Border Collie came to be known—came to SDF through Border Collie Rescue of El Mirage, California. They had taken in this little dog when the family she was with could no longer care for her.
The rescue group noticed that Tinker had an extraordinary attachment to her tennis ball—so strong an attachment that, instead of a leash, they were able to control her by carrying the tennis ball with them. It is this very high toy drive that is one of the most important characteristics of a Search Dog and an essential element in the SDF training program. Recognizing this quality, Border Collie Rescue gave the Search Dog Foundation a call. When Tinker was evaluated, she passed her test to be a disaster Search Dog candidate with flying colors.
Tinker graduated from training at Sundowners Kennel in September of 2002 and a group of new handlers arrived to be trained and partnered with their own Search Dogs. This was a very special group of rescue workers: the first international teams serving the community of Tijuana and ready to respond to calls throughout Mexico, should the need arise.
Tinker was partnered with Oscar Gonzalez, a firefighter at the Tijuana International Airport for over five years. Canines always have been present at the airport, searching for explosives and narcotics, and Oscar thought working with a canine on a personal level would be a wonderful bonus to his job and a growing experience.
“Just being a part of this program was amazing,” Gonzalez said. At Sundowners Kennel with the rest of the handlers from his group, he was introduced to the dogs and received training as a canine handler.
“I had the chance to send Tinker to an alert tube and, as she was alerting, her foot got caught in a wire and Tinker began barking in pain. I rushed to her side. When I reached down to her paw to see what the problem was she immediately went into my arms seeking comfort. In that moment we made a connection.” The next day they were teamed up by SDF Lead Trainer Pluis Davern.
Tinker and Oscar Gonzalez became very close after being partnered, and their lives were changed forever for the better. “I don’t need an alarm clock to wake me up for work. She takes care of that. She begins barking as if to say, ‘It’s time to go to work!'”
In July of 2005, these teams helped organize a training event that brought multiple search and rescue agencies from Tijuana together to train using different disaster scenarios. This was the first time multiple agencies were able to coordinate such a training event and it helped test their readiness to serve the community of Tijuana.
Sadly, on the morning of November 4, 2010, Oscar found that Tinker had passed away in her sleep. After eight years together, Oscar had to say goodbye to his partner and friend.
Tinker will be greatly missed but fondly remembered for being part of one of Mexico’s first urban search and rescue task forces, always ready to respond to a disaster in the Tijuana area.