Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson

I loved this book.” - Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Hidden Life of Dogs “In this celebration of the human-animal bond, a fascinating woman has written eloquently about her fascinating colleague, Puzzle. “Riveting…All dog lovers should read this book.” - Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human She talked about the training of her dog, what went on in her household with her pet dogs. Susannah talked about helping with the search for the remains of the astronauts from the space shuttle that blew up over Texas. How the author so closely watched her dog during training, she could tell from the different nose positions what kind of sniffing the dog was doing. Talked about the choosing and training of a dog for search and rescue. Along the way, Susannah and Puzzle learn to read the clues in the field, and in each other, to accomplish together the critical work neither could do alone and to unravel the mystery of the human-canine bond. From the earliest air-scent lessons to her final mastery of whole-body dialog, Puzzle emerges as a fully collaborative partner in a noble enterprise that unfolds across the forests, plains, and cityscapes of the Southwest.

Scent of the Missing is the story of Susannah and Puzzle’s adventures together and of the close relationship they forge as they search for the lost-a teen gone missing, an Alzheimer’s patient wandering in the cold, signs of the crew amid the debris of the space shuttle Columbia disaster. Puzzle’s willfulness and high drive, both assets in the field, challenged even Susannah, who had raised dogs for years. Still she felt the call, and once she qualified to train a dog of her own, she adopted Puzzle, a strong, bright Golden Retriever puppy who exhibited unique aptitudes as a working dog but who was less interested in the role of compliant house pet.

A dog lover and pilot with search experience herself, Susannah was so moved by the image that she decided to volunteer with a local canine team and soon discovered firsthand the long hours, nonexistent pay, and often heart-wrenching results they face. In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, Susannah Charleson clipped a photo from the newspaper: an exhausted canine handler, face buried in the fur of his search-and-rescue dog.

Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson