Scent Of The Missing: Love and Partnership with a Search-and-Rescue Dog

This is a TRUE STORY about how an owner trained her dog to find herself - and then others who were alive and missing - and then cadavers. It is heart warming and totally turned me onto the work of SERVICE ANIMALS and what they can do. It is also a great idea for teenagers looking for a way to volunteer within their community, while training and loving a fabulous Service Animal. Teens learn more about their own self-control when training animals. MORE TEENS NEED to be encouraged to VOLUNTEER in many ways to help others! It changes their lives!

This book is incredible. The author has a way of describing the most minute details in such glorious, exacting, 3 dimensional prose that your mind is filled with images so strong, it's if you are physically, mentally, and emotionally experiencing them yourself. She is able to dissect and vividly describe every move, every facial expression, every instance of body language, and no small amount of pure clairvoyance that is the relationship between her and her search and rescue (SAR) dog, Puzzle, and what makes them such a successful search and rescue team.Additionally, if you are an animal lover and have ever had a very special, close relationship with an animal that is not just your pet, but more a member of your family and the whole of your heart, you will read along, nodding your head, smiling, laughing, and crying as you recognize her descriptions of all the sweet, beautiful little things that are so remarkable about that kind of unconditional love and bond between human and animal ~ things that you have experienced yourself, but have never been able to put into words.You also realize right from the get-go that this is an extraordinarily intelligent, multi-talented, strong, determined, sensitive woman, who not only volunteers her SAR efforts, but who is also a pilot, pilot instructor, and now, a beautiful writer. During search and rescue missions, she is there in whatever capacity that is needed. When her beeper goes off and she hits the road in a well practiced, precise 20 minutes, bringing Puzzle with her and expecting to use her search and rescue skills on the ground with her dog, but when she is requested instead to pilot around the area for hours on end, she doesn't hesitate to accommodate.She is sensitive to the missing victims and their families in her writing and goes into just enough detail that you get the heart wrenching gist of the tragedy, but she does not sensationalize the tragedy to the point of exploitation. In some of the other reviews I've read, people wanted more of the gory details of each tragedy and count it against her that she did not give them those details. That's not the kind of book this is.It's more about the monumental, Herculean efforts these people and their dogs go through from training, testing, and then working a mission in order to offer a service to those most unfortunate among us.It's about learning how to communicate against unspeakable conditions with your dog in order to save a life, or find the missing.It's about trust, love, and unbreakable bonds with your canine partner.And, for me, the best parts of this book were her detailed observations about her dog: from the quizzical raised eyebrow and what it means; the furrowed eyebrow and what message that conveys; the relaxed trotting around compared to the stiffened stance, nose in the air indicating a find - to the prancing Alpha dog play time between Puzzle and her other dogs and cats; the clearly exhibited frustration of Puzzle when her human partner wasn't catching on quickly enough to what Puzzle was trying to tell her; the things Puzzle was never taught but was smart enough to figure out on her own to the surprise and amazement of her human partner; the many things Puzzle taught her human partner; and the most enjoyable of all: the laugh out loud moments when the author would describe her dog's expression and interpret it in words so that we readers could get the full story from Puzzle's point of view.I loved this book. I read it from cover to cover, and I frequently read certain passages over and over again just for the shear high it gave me. I fell completely in love with Puzzle, her fellow Pomeranians, Maddie the cat, and all the other SAR dogs. I cried when some of them passed. I developed enormous respect for these wonderful dogs and their dedicated human partners. Despite the tragedies - both of the hapless victims and the author's own devastations, this was still a feel-good book in the end. You realize that as long as there are these dogs and these people doing what they do best out of their own selfless convictions, it makes the world a little less dark.

I"m a long-time dog owner, compete in agility, published author, and have had a number of "working" dogs (ie: more than just pets). And I love to read. So I'm evaluating this book on several levels.1. It's well-written book. Too many books by those with technical background (including dog trainers or SAR specialists or a range of other professionals) KNOW their stuff, they just can't write in a way that grabs you. They don't use language that pulls you in. Not so with this book. Even if you have no interest in dogs or SAR you'll find this to be no worse than an enjoyable read.2. For the dog-lover, it's a powerful book. This isn't just about SAR teams (although that's the focus). The "non-working" dogs in her life play key roles in this story. Anyone who loves dogs or wants to more complex understanding about them...how they learn....how they interact....how they see the world....how they communicate with humans...well then you'll love this book.3. For those interested in SAR, this is NOT a "how to" manual (there are far more detailed resources on that). But this will give you a taste of what SAR work is like without you feeling like you sat down with 200 dry FEMA powerpoint slides. If you have some familiarity with SAR work, you won't find glaring or annoying errors and stereotypes or cliches. If you're not familiar with it, you'll be drawn in without being overwhelmed about the variations of scent cones depending upon temperature and humidity.4. And for someone looking for a book about a divorced woman going through a transition in her life and evolving in to this new stage, it's a good book. While the author's personal life isn't a focus of the story, you're clear throughout the book that Susannah and Puzzle are learning to be a team. And Susannah's perspective affects her ability to read and train Puzzle. No melodrama or human romance here, only that this indirectly becomes an interesting human story as well.On many levels, this book is a great read that will appeal to a lot of different audiences...dog lovers, SAR enthusiasts or those with initial interest, personal stories, real-life mysteries. It's nice to get a book that not only has such range of appeal but reads well too.

Easy read. I liked the that the author spoke to you in an almost “conversational tone”. The author explains many of the obstacles and training required before becoming a SAR Volunteer. The book gives me hope for America and the future.

Obviously you would need to be interested in dogs/search and rescue to read this book but, as long as you have an interest, this is a very informative and enjoyable book. Lots of information about the training of the young puppy involved and then its deployment once it had passed all the necessary tests. One has to admire the resilience of these people who give up their time to go into extremely adverse conditions in order to help others - and also at very unsociable hours! Thank goodness there are such people and it does us all good I think to read about the dedication of others. Not only is it an informative book, it is well written in my opinion and I recommend it.

Love, comradeship, adventure, humour, humanity, loss. In the list of elements of a good novel the only thing missing maybe would be treachery.But this is no novel, it's a true life story about a talented SAR dog and her loyal & loving human. It's also about that very Human human, a young woman with her own troubles but who still retains the desire to give her time and energy in the service of others in need.This is. A fabulous book and you will be the better for having read it!

I am enjoying reading this book. Wonderful insight into what it takes to train dogs for this type of work. This is the second book by Susannah Charleson I have read in a short period of time and I hope she publishes another soon. Great books! I was thrilled how fast this book arrived from the seller. It was just as described on Amazon by the seller.

Absolutely loved it

if you love dogs, that combined with excellent writing, you will love this book. it is written as if you are right there. a truly gifted writer, Susannah takes you into a world that we would otherwise never experience. It is also a love story to dogs. anyone who loves their dog like family, will absolutely relate to this relationship. Excellent read, could not put it down.