Badge on My Collar

How does one fully explain the symbiotic relationship between dog handlers and their dogs? Officers and their dogs mesh into a solid unit that thinks and anticipates as one as they communicate many times in unspoken words. By necessity, theirs is an extremely tight bond. This book is a window into those relationships and the lives of K-9s. It showcases fifteen memorable police and search and rescue dogs and presents their unforgettable stories. A twenty-year search for the most heart-warming stories provides a chronicle that gives insight into an often personal world the public seldom sees. Meet K-9 Argus who against all odds searched for an abandoned newborn in the rugged Canadian wilderness. K-9 Alley of Maryland whose own pain never stopped her from searching for Pentagon victims of 9/11 and K-9 Sirius of the New York Port Authority, the only dog lost at the World Trade Center, will both be remembered for their heroism. K-9 Major from Minnesota and K-9 Luke II from Ohio, two of the most unlikely dogs to reach the pinnacle of success, exemplify the dedication and superb training necessary to assure a place on the often-mean streets to protect the public. The loss of a valued police dog, K-9 Ingo from Tennessee, and the hazards military working dogs such as K-9 Rex face every day in foreign lands, bring a whole new respect for the dogs and their handlers. And as one Ohio dog, K-9 Midge, has demonstrated, sometimes the most successful dog paws do not fit the big dog mold. The story of these dogs and many others is told with poignancy and sometime humor clearing up any misconceptions anyone might have about the nature and duties of today's K-9s. A must read for anyone who has ever loved a dog.