K9 Spotlight: Melissa Kindt and Hawk
Apr 30th 2021
Melissa Kindt & Hawk
Volunteer Search & Rescue // Search & Recovery
"I started volunteering at a young age, in scouts
and 4H, so it's been a part of me for a long time. I've also always had and
loved animals. After graduating college with a degree in equine management (and
training), I spent several years as a trainer and groomer at a dog daycare, and
put an obedience title on a Great Dane. I also adopted and fostered several
Danes including a white deaf one, named Ivory. These opportunities gave me so
many chances to learn the intricacies of dog behavior and training.
With my
first Shepherd, who I acquired only as a pet, I fell into the tracking
community, with the intent on starting SAR with him. Unfortunately, he wasn't cut out
for the work - he was a fantastic companion but not independent enough to take
the lead. When I was ready to add another dog to my household, I knew I was
looking for a dog with drive and independence (in a Shepherd).
I found Hawk in a litter - after watching the puppies on a couple of different occasions, and chose him. He has several half-siblings in the working dog world, as police K9s, sport dogs and SAR. He took to his job right away. As my first SAR dog, he has
taught me more than I have taught him. Together, we learned scent-specific
trailing, moved on to area search, live-find, and added the human remains detection specialty.
Being volunteers means it can take a while to train the dog up - I don't get paid to train and work with them, so it definitely takes a lot of dedication and patience outside of my day job. Typically, about 2-5 years to get a first
time handler and their dog certified. We were certified in Wilderness Air Scent
(area search) in just under 3 years, and human remains detection shortly
thereafter. Although we have mainly focused on wilderness searches here in
Colorado, we have also traveled outside of the state - to Kansas, Wyoming and
South Dakota.
Last year at age 6, Hawk was diagnosed with a muscle disease
which will eventually end his career. I made the difficult decision to retire
him from area search to prevent significant injuries, but we will continue to
work searches as requested for human remains detection in appropriate terrain.
We will also be working on getting our water search certification this year. We
love serving our community and look forward to continuing to do so for several
more years."
Their Gear: "We love the Evolution Nylon Dog Collar with Cobra D-Ring. I love the weight of this collar and the super-customizable size. When I get it out, Hawk knows he's going to work. The width is perfect so people can see his ID patches even through his long fur. It's a super sturdy collar and I don't anticipate needing to replace it for wear and tear or breakage. It's held up well as the dog works through brambles, thick forest, and in the water. The D-ring is easy to find even when my fingers are numb from the Colorado winter, or I have on thick gloves or mittens."
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