Beverly is training Zinder (German for Cinder) to be a trailing dog to eventually replace
Nikki, in Southwest Search Dogs, our all-volunteer K-9 Search and Rescue(SAR) group. I think Zinder is about three months old, because she still has her puppy fur and is still really soft. At trainings, she gets passed around from one handler to the next, like a human baby, because she's really fun to hold, but she always looks back to Bev, since she has already bonded to her. Bev is reflected in Zinder's eyes in this shot, as she was holding treats that she used to move her into position and to give her a good expression. It required a lot of patience on all of our parts, because Zinder didn't understand that we wanted her to stay in one place for more than just a couple of seconds.
It's always a bittersweet experience to train replacements for our search dogs. On the one hand, puppies are so cute, enthusiastic and quick to learn, but on the other hand, our working dogs have served us so well, been so loyal to us, and the bond that we developed with them is so strong that it can't be put into words, and it is really sad to watch them grow old and to have to deal with the inevitability of their passing. We know that they can never be replaced, but there is always room in our hearts for just one more dog.
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