Captain canine

Dogs eyed for law enforcement, war effort
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By STEVE LOUDEN – Freeman Staff February 27, 2002

IXONIA – The public’s interest on using canines in search-and-recovery efforts has increased since the Sept. 11 tragedies, said one man who trains dogs and their owners in such efforts.

“Since 9-11, there’s a lot more interest in canine search and recovery,” A.J. Marhofke said. “People were educated on the capabilities of search dogs.”

Marhofke is the founder of 911BC Search and Recovery in the town of Summit.

There are three things a good search-and-recovery dog brings to a mission, he said.

“They save manpower, man hours and lives,” Marhofke said. “A good search-and-recovery dog saves time, money and lives.”

Trent Westphal said he has always found doing detective work very interesting.

But, the Plover volunteer firefighter of seven years added, he never really thought of the many different ways a dog can be used for search and recovery.

“Along with being a firefighter, I am one of the lead investigators on the fire investigation team,” Westphal said. “Eventually, I would like to train a dog to do accelerant detection.”

Westphal is taking the course with his border collie mix, Shelby, though he is unsure if Shelby will adapt to the training or not.

“I am taking the class to learn by my mistakes and, hopefully, I will make my mistakes with Shelby,” Westphal said. “This should make training the next dog quicker because the learning curve would have been shortened up.”

Milwaukee Police Officer Nicole Martinez said she also sees a need for canines to benefit the community.

“I want my dog and I to be able to serve our community, state and our country through search and recovery,” Martinez said. “My dog and I have the ability to devote as much time as it will take in order to be successful in this endeavor.”

Martinez said her “soul mate” is her border collie, Split.

“If, throughout our career as handler and canine, we never get in the field – never find a lost person – I will count this opportunity to train with A.J. and develop an even stronger bond with my dog to be one that may never come around again,” Martinez said.

Janet Syburg of Genesee Depot said her training with Poppy is part of her “war effort.”

“I was very moved by the events of Sept. 11 and wanted to do something to help the ‘war effort,’ as I remember it being called when my parents were doing so during and after World War II,” Syburg said.

She said those are some of her fondest memories, and these encourage her in her training.

“I remember my parents learning to wrap bandages for the Red Cross, saving coupons so we could have shoes and certain foods, walking to save gas, knitting ‘Bundles for Britain,’” Syburg said. “I remember the loyalty we had as kids, collecting tin cans, newspapers, and saving for war bonds. I remember our neighbor coming home from the Air Force and giving me a lapel wing pin from his uniform.”

Though she is unsure where search-and-rescue training will lead her, Syburg said that does not matter.

“I don’t know what that is or will be, but perhaps it will lead to something that I can call my war effort,” Syburg said.

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