Local Search & Rescue dog to be featured on Animal Planet

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Local Search & Rescue dog to be featured on Animal Planet retrieved from http://www.kcby.com/news/local/89076237.html

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BANDON, Ore. -Finding a missing person is all in a days work for a search and rescue dog. But recently it was Animal Planet that was hot on the trail of a special Pappion pooch out of Bandon.

Rescued by his owner Catherine Schneider, Puffin here has been working as a Search and Rescue dog for Douglas County for about the past six months.

A rare feat for his Pappion breed, Schneider says it was in his nose to be a Trailing and Cadaver Scent dog. "He would go with me when I was training Lucky, the larger dog, and one time we were putting Cadaver samples out and Puffin jumped out of the back of the vehicle and ran over and showed us where the Cadaver was."

About a year and a half ago, Schneider says she took Puffin to a Water Cadaver class near Mt. Hood, that first caught the attention of one of the trainers.

"I took Puffin and of course the first thing I heard was what's that," said Schneider. "And so when Animal Planet started doing their programs for, "Dogs 101" for the next season, they wanted to find a Pappion that was doing something a little special."

According to a State Certifier, Puffin is the smallest Search and Rescue dog in the state of Oregon. And with that comes some benefits said Schneider. "If you have a subject that's out there that's scared, frightened, some of the little kids or some of the Alzheimer's, they might actually hide or avoid the larger dogs, where as you come in with something like Puffin and it almost pulls them out."

It's not easy to train as a Cadaver or Human Remains Detection Search and Rescue dog for a couple of reason says Schneider. But they continue to work together on it because they know how important their job is.

"When you find those remains and can give closure to a family, then it just reinforces why you're out there."

Now while Puffin was recently in the spotlight for his role on Animal Planet, Schneider says when it comes down to it, everyone involved in this line of work is a star.

"Search and Rescue isn't me and my dog going out and finding somebody. Search and Rescue is about the whole team, everybody going out there as a team."

To catch Puffin on Animal Planet, producers say it should air in about four months, in the show "Dogs 101," with the Pappion Breeds.