Vito playing in yard

Vito getting serious lying down indicating he has found a bloody knife

 

Vito Corleone 

     This past month we all felt more than a few booms from thunder storms.  Please be reminded that most dogs are sent into frenzy at the sound of thunder. So please keep your dogs indoors or crated so they do not run away and become lost.

   As I drove into Margaret Blair’s yard to do an interview on her dog Vito, one of her dogs had run away after hearing the sounds of thunder. Margaret’s dogs have acres of land upon which to take cover so she spent 24 hours to find her dog. To many of us the thought of a lost dog raises a lot of fears because of the dangers that exist in the mother lode.

    Vito, a good size German shepherd dog greeted me as I drove into Margaret’s acreage. Vito on first look is a very handsome dog standing about 3 feet at the shoulders.  According to Margaret, in the shepherd tradition, Vito is very smart. Margaret breeds German Shepherds and early on selected Vito to be a tracking dog. Then she also added to his resume, a cadaver dog.

    While the word cadaver does not exactly bring pleasant pictures to mind it’s a job that is very important.  Many times a year people have gone missing under suspicious circumstances.  Vito is trained to search for the person. His highly sensitive nose can smell blood or decomposing bodies. He recently helped in finding a body in the mother lode that had been covered up and decomposed over a period of months.

    Vito is also a tracker dog. In these circumstances Margaret may be asked if Vito can be used to find people missing.  Here in the mother lode every year there are people who take a quick hike off the trail and end up lost. Vito is trained to search for them. Recently Vito was called on to help locate three people lost in Big Trees Park. It only took him a matter of minutes but he located the three, saving the hikers and their families a great deal of anxiety.

   Margaret says there is a distinct difference in a tracker assignment and a cadaver assignment. They are two specific tasks. Vito becomes aware of which task he is being assigned by the vest Margaret puts on him.

  Margaret points out the importance of each role.  For an example, the dogs brought in after tragedies such as 9-11 in New York. There were both tracker dogs and cadaver dogs searching in the rubble. The tracker dogs were searching for survivors while the cadaver dogs were searching for those who died.   These dogs know their roles and do not get confused.

    Vito works with several law enforcement agencies in the local area. When Margaret receives the call she puts Vito’s vest on, and day or night, off they go.

    Vito loves his work but he also loves to just hang out on Margaret’s acreage. She has several other dogs to keep him company. Vito enjoys his playtime but when called into duty he is ready to work. 

  For his endeavors he is happy to be told he is a good dog and, of course, a dog treat is always welcomed.