Flickr: Our dogs are Best in Show

By Jayn Bigler

My dog, Trooper, really isn't an "ordinary dog." He is a retired search-and-rescue trailing dog. Trooper is a beautiful German shepherd, but his own life's trail didn't take him to the show ring. It had led him to look for those who needed help.

Due to a degenerative eye disorder called pannus that affects some German shepherds and other breeds, I retired him from SAR work last August. Trooper has rapidly lost the use of his sight... more 

By Jayn Bigler

My dog, Trooper, really isn't an "ordinary dog." He is a retired search-and-rescue trailing dog. Trooper is a beautiful German shepherd, but his own life's trail didn't take him to the show ring. It had led him to look for those who needed help.

Due to a degenerative eye disorder called pannus that affects some German shepherds and other breeds, I retired him from SAR work last August. Trooper has rapidly lost the use of his sight and is almost blind. Recently, a friend came out to my farm and laid a trail for us.

Trooper, of course, still has his sense of smell, but he can't see the terrain around him very well. It was the first time he had been put in his trailing harness to look for a "lost" subject as we did regularly when we were an operational SAR K9 team.

"Go find!"

Although he had a couple of moments of hesitation, Trooper showed the steadiness and courage he had always shown, putting his nose to the ground and pulling me along like the trooper that he is. In short order, we had found our "lost" friend. Trooper's not a show dog, but he's a champion nonetheless. less