"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13
We’ve all heard and read about search and rescue dogs. Most of us doubtless have an image in our mind of intrepid canines locating people lost in the woods or rescuing individuals trapped under piles of rubble. But what actually goes into canine search and rescue work? What does it entail and what is it like going out with your dog, hoping to find the best, but knowing you might encounter the worst?
My guest today is retired canine search specialist Bob Deeds, who spent decades training and deploying with search and rescue dogs, beginning with his very first assignment—the ruins of the Twin Towers. He joined me on the show today to talk about his experiences in search and rescue work, the easiest and hardest parts of the job, and the importance and power of love.
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[0:05] COLLEEN: Welcome to unleashed at work and home. I'm Colleen Pelar, and this is where pet professionals come for honest conversations about what it really takes to show up for yourself while serving the animals you love. If you've ever felt caught between compassion and exhaustion, you're in the right place. Here, we explore what it means to reconnect with your inner wisdom and rediscover the joy that brought you to this work...
[1:09] BOB: Well, basically, and it's, it's kind of evolved over time, but when I first started, our primary mission was finding a live human being that was trapped in rubble. And of course, as time developed, we were called into different missions, and the overall structure of the mission started to change a little bit...
[6:11] BOB (on childhood dreams): This is hilarious. I wanted to be a ballet dancer. I was very involved in theater, children's theater. Fort Worth, Texas has the largest children's theater in the world...
[7:30] BOB: I actually danced professionally for a little bit. Did theater? Did some summer stock? Went to college, and it wasn't really until later that I was on the internet. Ran across a website called NAR...
[13:36] COLLEEN: What are you willing to share about that experience [World Trade Center deployment]?
[13:47] BOB: That was probably one of the most pivotal moments of my life, as far as everything that's happened after that. It was an extremely devastatingly sad moment, and at the same time, it was one of the proudest moments of my life...
[33:15] COLLEEN: How long were you up there?
[33:19] BOB: I believe it was like 11 to 14 days, something like that. I worked 12 hour shifts... you'd get about four or five hours sleep, very rough sleep. You're in a room with a bunch of snoring firefighters...
[42:23] BOB (on meaningful words): I'm a Christian. I've been a Christian for a long time since I was like nine years old, but I haven't always lived like a Christian. And, you know, I was more of a Christian by label... more of myself that's getting revealed every day...
[51:27] COLLEEN: That's so beautiful, Bob, I love how you said, more of myself that's getting revealed every day. And I think that's the work that each of us is doing in our own way all the time...
[53:27] BOB: I am a grown man, and I've got to play with dogs. That is a blessing beyond belief.