Komu's Search for Remington

Komu performed flawlessly this evening in the search for Remington.  Remington is gray, very similar to the cat in the picture above.  Komu found that cat by sight, not smell.  Also, that cat has longer fur than Remington, and has belonged at that house for years, so it could not be Remington.  In the back yard of the house in the picture, two houses away from Remington's home, Komu found his collar, with Remington's name and phone number on the tag.  Komu also found little tufts of Remington's fur.  A neighbor reported seeing a coyote leaving that area with a small, dark animal in its mouth, a couple of hours after Remington got out.  Circumstantial evidence strongly points to Remington being taken by a coyote.  Komu and I did not find any definitive evidence that would prove Remington did not survive.  I would not have found the evidence if not for Komu's nose guiding me.  I walked right by the red collar in the green grass without seeing it until Komu pointed it out to me.  Although we didn't find Remington alive, Komu did an excellent job, probably solving this case.

Komu's Search for Maomy

Komu searched for Maomy on a warm evening.  The conditions were not ideal, but Komu performed perfectly.  Because of his thin coat and lack of body fat, he can work in warm weather without getting too hot.  He never even had to pant.  We searched about 20 homes, and found several cats, but not the one we were looking for.  The wind shifted from one direction to the other, every few minutes.  A few people weren't home, and a few homes were vacant, preventing us from doing the most complete search.  We did receive reports of a cat matching her description, so it seems she is nearby.  One technique I used more on this search than previous ones was to peek over the fences into the neighboring yards, where I discovered cats who were alerted to the dog on the other side of the fence.  I will have to be sure to do this on all future searches in this type of neighborhood.

Practice search for Toby in Tukwilla 20120901

How could you not love a face like that?  Komu is very happy here because he found two cats, and because he is getting cheese for a reward.  We were only supposed to be finding Toby hidden in the bushes in his carrier, but Mu also found a feral cat hiding in the landscaping of the office complex.

Although we haven't had rain in 40 days, the humidity and temperature were fine.  Mu started at the south end of the large building, and I knew Toby had been planted somewhere near the north end.  He worked up and down through the shrubs and St. John's Wort between the sidewalk and the windows of the offices.  Half way along the building, Komu alerted.  I thought it was probably a rabbit, since we weren't supposed to be anywhere close to Toby yet.  I dropped Komu's leash so I could go around and catch him on the other side.  Even though I had let go, he didn't rush after his quarry.  When I saw he was actually trailing an animal, as opposed to detecting a stationary animal, I called him back.  He came to me, and I saw a tabby cat run out of the bushes.  Mu saw the cat too.  He barked for his treat, and I rewarded him with cheese.  I told him he was a good boy and he should go find another.

We kept working along the building, in and out of the shrubs.  In the area north of the building, I took Komu to the north side so he could work into the wind coming out of the south.  We worked in and out of the storm water swale.  Closer to the river, he suddenly veered into a laurel and went straight through to Toby's carrier, whining.  I came around and saw that he had in fact found Toby.  I rewarded him with another helping of cheese.  To me, the picture seems to show that he is happy about more than just cheese.  He really likes the challenge, and then finding the hidden kitty.  It is a game that he is good at and that he enjoys deeply.  When he is working, Mu is the best dog in the world.