New Dog’s Training is Breaking Ground in Wisconsin

By STEVE LOUDEN, Freeman Staff

DOUSMAN, WI: A new member has been added to 911BC K-9 Search & Recovery of Dousman: a 2-year-old border collie named Zip.

Zip is already breaking new ground in Wisconsin, according to A.J. Marhofke, canine search specialist and owner of 911BC K-9 Search & Recovery.

“Zip will do no live-person searches,” Marhofke said. “He will be trained to ignore every other scene except human remains. There is a definite need for dogs like this. That has been proven in the state of California.”

Marhofke said Wisconsin is now one paw-step closer to that western state, one of the leaders in canine search teams.

“He is being trained as a forensic evidence dog, one of the first dogs in Wisconsin to be trained in this type of work,” he added. “This type of canine is used extensively in California at crime scenes and suspected crime locations.”

As Zip adjusts to his new home he seems blissfully unaware of the duties that will rest upon his narrow shoulders. But, even playing fetch with a ball or flying disc is part of his training.

Not only is it exercise, it is teaching him to concentrate on an object rather than a person, his trainer said.

“You want a very intense, driven dog for this type of work,” Marhofke said. “And Zip meets that requirement very much so.”

Chance meeting

Marhofke originally met Zip when a representative of the Institute of K-9 Forensics, Palo Alto, Calif., asked him to evaluate the dog. Zip was living at Wisconsin Border Collie Rescue after he was given up by his former owners.

Zip was following his instincts by herding the owners’ 4-year-old daughter and, unfortunately, nipping at her heels.

Marhofke gave Zip a favorable evaluation for the institute, which was considering the dog for work through the San Francisco Police Department. But the institution passed on Zip.

“I lost a lot of sleep over Zip, worried that his adoption process was going so slow,” Marhofke said.

Then the Wisconsin kennel asked Marhofke to provide a foster home for Zip. He readily accepted.

“As soon as he got in my house, I knew Zip wasn’t leaving,” Marhofke said.

Molly Mae, almost 6, Marhofke’s other border collie, accepted Zip with a hint of jealously that continues today, Marhofke said. But the two live together in harmony.

“Living with two border collies is like living with six kids,” Marhofke said. “It is two times the fun of one.”

Different jobs

Molly Mae and Zip are different as summer and winter, both in play and in work, Marhofke said.

In play, Zip will concentrate entirely on the ball. He will chase it down, then bring it back and wait for another toss.

Molly Mae is different. Calling her name and throwing the ball does not result in a fetch when Zip is around. Instead, she will watch and chase her playmate.

“Molly is more social, and Zip would rather work,” Marhofke said.

And these factors are important in their similar, but very separate, lines of work, he said.

Zip will work in close quarters, such as a plot or a residence. He will work intensely for 20 minutes, then rest for 15. His goal is to find signs of human remains.

Though Molly Mae is trained to find cadavers, her main function is to search for missing people who are still alive. Her sociability is an important part of her psyche in this work, Marhofke said.

Both dogs will be teachers and students in a planned search and rescue course that begins in January. It will be held in conjunction with the Western Waukesha County Dog Training Club.

For more information those classes, contact Julie Lentz-Andrus at (262) 569-9433 or by e-mail at kiltie@execpc.com.

For more information on canine search and rescue, visit Marhofke’s Web site at www.911BC.net.

(Steve Louden can be reached at slouden@conleynet.com)