The first pet that Karen Nixon and her scent dog Halo found was a lost pooch named Penny Lane.

Penny had been missing for days in Pitt Meadows, and her distraught owner actually camped out at the dikes in Pitt Meadows for two nights, hoping they could find her.

Kylie Nicholls explained they had been out for a walk, unaware it was hunting season, and someone set off a deafening bear banger to scare up some geese. Penny Lane tore away in a panic, and couldn含羞草研究社檛 be called back. Nicholls and her partner tried to find the rescue from Mexico, but the dog vanished, and was not coming back. They put up lost dog posters, were active in social media, and had friends and volunteers out searching the area, with no luck.

Through that networking, she heard about Nixon and her scent dog in training, and got in touch. Nixon agreed it would be a great trial for the freshly trained Halo.

Nicholls soon got a tip about a sighting from a cyclist, and Nixon came to the scene. They let Halo sniff Penny Lane含羞草研究社檚 dog bed, and let her start sniffing. About a half hour later, they had the lost dog back.

Halo, a white Shepherd that is fast becoming a canine expert in tracking lost pets, picked up Penny含羞草研究社檚 scent on the dike. She tracked her to some dense bushes north of the Pitt River Bridge. It was blackberries, that looked like they had been woven together, and Nixon started to wonder what animal Halo might have been tracking.

含羞草研究社淪he was alerting to that bush, telling me 含羞草研究社楶enny含羞草研究社檚 in here,含羞草研究社� and I was just like 含羞草研究社楬ow?含羞草研究社� said Karen. 含羞草研究社淚 couldn含羞草研究社檛 believe she had gotten in there.含羞草研究社�

Then Nixon heard a slight whine.

含羞草研究社淲e saw here little eyes, and it was her,含羞草研究社� she recalled.

Nixon was impressed with her dog.

含羞草研究社淪he blew me away 含羞草研究社� she did it so easily, so confidently.含羞草研究社�

Soon there was a tearful reunion.

含羞草研究社淲ithout Karen and Halo, we never would have found her,含羞草研究社� said Nicholls, noting that her dog had injuries to her pads, and was dehydrated and hungry, but otherwise fine. 含羞草研究社淭here含羞草研究社檚 no words that can say how thankful I am to them.含羞草研究社�

Nixon said it含羞草研究社檚 gratifying work.

含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 the best feeling 含羞草研究社� the relief and joy,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 the most rewarding thing ever.

含羞草研究社淎nd seeing the pet that was frightened含羞草研究社� as soon as they含羞草研究社檙e on the leash again, you see them visibly relax.含羞草研究社�

The Penny Lane rescue was the first of many, and Halo is regularly out searching for dogs and cats that go missing.

Nixon is a paramedic who lives in Maple Ridge, and bought a puppy two years ago from a breeder in Illinois.

Halo is a snow white Swiss Shepherd 含羞草研究社� a breed that is popular in eastern Europe, and are sporting dogs used for tracking and obedience trials.

含羞草研究社淭hey含羞草研究社檙e a well-rounded, nice sporting dog,含羞草研究社� said Nixon. 含羞草研究社淎nd they have an off switch at home. They含羞草研究社檙e really lovely dogs.含羞草研究社�

They soon formed a group called the Scent Rescue Team. Other members are Paige Millward, who has an Australian Shepherd named Bailey, and Stephanie Tolea who has a German Shepherd Elly. They have all had scent training.

含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e still very new, our dogs are still young, but so far we含羞草研究社檙e doing pretty good,含羞草研究社� said Nixon.

There are the three dog handlers, a drone flier, and they have some equipment such as dog and cat traps and nets. Advanced Drone Solutions is a Coquitlam business, and they volunteer their time for searches, asking only for their costs to be covered.

Nixon explained dogs that get severely frightened, such as from fireworks, can sometimes run away in a blind panic, and then go to ground in a hiding spot.

含羞草研究社淥nce they get into that fight-or-flight mode, they don含羞草研究社檛 even come for their owners,含羞草研究社� she said. After a while, she said, even hearing their name called 含羞草研究社渂ecomes a trigger,含羞草研究社� and they won含羞草研究社檛 come out of hiding.

Scent dogs make the task of finding them a lot easier. A young Chihuahua had been missing for about five hours, and Halo found the dog under a neighbour含羞草研究社檚 house in about 10 minutes.

Nixon knows personally the trauma a person feels at losing their pet, and even before she had Halo she would help people in the search.

含羞草研究社淚 really feel for these people, and understand how terrifying it is,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淲e don含羞草研究社檛 charge. We just recently started accepting donations.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淚 hope more people reach out to me.含羞草研究社�

Anyone looking for a lost pet can ask for their help on the page on Facebook. She asks that they post a photo and message, email scentrescueteam@gmail.com, and there are also phone numbers on the site.

Their members are in Vancouver, Langley and Maple Ridge, and they search for pets across the region.

Nixon would also encourage other people to join the hobby. Any breed can do it, and she noted that pugs are surprisingly good at scent tasks.

含羞草研究社淒ogs love jobs, and it含羞草研究社檚 a really great bonding experience with your dog,含羞草研究社� she said.

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