Posted on 01/09/2007 1:56:17 PM PST by Dysart
FORT WORTH -- It was a risky job.
The first deployment for Kinsey, a black Labrador with Texas Task Force One -- a search-and-rescue team with the Federal Emergency Management Agency -- was to ground zero after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"The first and only thought when I saw the pile was 'My dog is going to die,' and I was scared to death, but we had to try to find somebody," handler Bob Deeds said. "You lean over, you kiss them in the face, you give them the search command, and you go and do it."
Deeds and Kinsey made it through with only minor cuts that day. They worked safely through many disasters after that, including Hurricane Ivan and the Gulf Coast hurricanes.
So it is easy to understand the disbelief that greeted an e-mail from Deeds circulated this weekend: Kinsey had been put down Sunday after a training accident.
As a working search-and-rescue dog, Kinsey made two trips each month to Disaster City, a training facility at Texas A&M University where emergency responders can practice working on rubble piles, collapsible buildings and a mock-up of train wreckage. Just before noon, Kinsey was climbing on a structure that simulated a "pancaked" building, where the floors have collapsed on top of each other. She tried to jump across a 3-foot gap as she had done many times before and lost her footing. The fall broke her back. Veterinarians told Deeds that even with surgery, Kinsey was not going to recover, so she was put down.
Kinsey came from a Metroplex shelter. She was a certified Type I-Advanced Disaster Dog, one of seven dogs trained at that level in Texas and one of fewer than 150 in the country.
"The canines are real members of Texas Task Force One. In fact, they are probably our most valuable resource," director Bob McKee said. "Kinsey deployed with us to hurricanes, disasters and 9-11. She really taught us about canine search and rescue, particularly in the early days of the team, and served as a model for the other canines."
Last year the Tarrant County Veterinary Medical Association inducted Kinsey into the Animal Hall of Fame.
At some point, Deeds says, he will be back in the field with a new dog. By then, the loss of Kinsey may be easier to handle.
"You know the risks," he said. "The reality is this could happen any time. Any time you take a step on rubble. Any time you crawl into a hole, you never know."
FACTS ABOUT KINSEY
8 years old
Female black Labrador retriever
Owners: Bob and Karen Deeds
Urban Search & Rescue involves finding, rescuing and medically stabilizing victims trapped in confined spaces. Task force members work in four areas of specialization: finding victims, safely digging victims out of collapsed concrete and metal, making structures safe for the rescuers, and caring for victims before and after rescue.
As part of the team of search-and-rescue dogs in New York after 9-11, Kinsey was awarded the Dickin Medal by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. It is the highest honor bestowed by the British charity on any animal in time of conflict or in the face of extreme danger, and is considered the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
Since 9-11, Kinsey participated in a yearly health evaluation (which included an MRI) sponsored by the IAMS dog food company.
Texas Task Force One functions as Texas' only statewide urban search-and-rescue team under the direction of the Governor's Division of Emergency Management.
Texas Task Force One was formed in 1997 and joined FEMA's urban search-and-rescue program in June 200
Their loyalty is without hesitation.
Dogs in general are amazing creature to me, but rescue dogs are even more special. Very sad case here.
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