Ellie's Story (16 page)

I had never heard Jakob laugh like that before.

Over Alyssa's head, I looked at Jakob. He was so different from when I'd lived and Worked with him. The coldness inside had gone away.

“I'm glad you're doing this community outreach program,” Jakob told Maya. “A dog like Ellie needs to work.”

I heard the word “work” and wagged my tail as Jakob came and knelt down beside Alyssa and me. But there was no urgency in the word, no sense that we were about to Find anyone. Jakob just always talked about work. That was his way.

Maya hovered in the background, exchanging smiles with the woman who'd been holding Alyssa. She was the girl's mother, I realized. And Jakob was the girl's father. He had a family now, and he was happy.

That's what was different. In all the time I had known him, Jakob had never been happy.

I had never thought that Jakob might be lost or might need saving. He was the one who helped me save other people. But now it almost felt as if Jakob had finally been Found.

“We've got to get you home, honey,” the woman said to the girl.

“Can Ellie come?” Alyssa asked.

Everybody laughed.

It was nice to be there with both Maya and Jakob. I eased down to the floor, so happy I thought I might take a nap.

“Ellie,” Jakob said. He bent down and took hold of my face gently, looking into my eyes.

The feel of his rough hands on my fur took me back to when I was a puppy, first learning my Work. I wagged my tail, thumping it on the floor. I knew that soon I'd go home with Maya, that my place and my Work was with her now. But I was still full of love for this man.

“Good girl,” Jakob said gently, and I heard tenderness in his voice. I could tell that he loved Alyssa and her mother, and for the first time I could sense that he also loved me.

“A good dog,” Jakob told me. “Ellie, you're a good dog.”

 

More About Search-and-Rescue Dogs

Ellie is a search-and-rescue dog. She's trained to find people who are lost. In real life, dogs like Ellie do this kind of work every day. Handlers like Jakob and Maya work hard to train their dogs—and themselves—to do what is needed to find people in trouble.

What kind of jobs do search-and-rescue dogs do?

Some search-and-rescue dogs find live people and others look for dead bodies. Some are trained for wilderness work or water rescue. Others find people who have been trapped in a collapsed building or hurt in a disaster. Ellie is trained to search for living people.

What does a search-and-rescue dog need to do?

A search-and-rescue dog must learn to obey its handler's commands, to find the scent trails left by a person, and to let its handler know that it has found something important. Some dogs bark to alert their handlers; others use body language, such as the angle of the ears or the tension of the body. The dog must also be able to climb, balance on wobbly surfaces, crawl through tunnels, and become comfortable riding in cars, trucks, airplanes, helicopters, and maybe even ski lifts or boats, depending on the kind of rescues it will be doing.

What kind of dog can be a search-and-rescue dog?

It doesn't take a particular breed to become a search-and-rescue dog. Almost any breed, or a mixed-breed dog, can do the job, as long as it is strong enough. Bloodhounds are particularly good at following scent trails. Saint Bernards are experts at working in snow; their thick coats keep them warm and their strong legs and big feet help them clamber through drifts. Newfoundlands are good swimmers and have strong instincts for water rescue. (Sometimes they even try to “save” swimmers who don't want to be saved!) Labrador Retrievers, Belgian Malinois, Border Collies, Golden Retrievers, and German Shepherds (like Ellie), are also common search-and-rescue dogs.

When trainers are looking for a puppy that might grow up to be a good search-and-rescue dog, one of the first things they look for is how the puppy plays. Playing is a puppy's work. A young dog who will play with a ball or a toy for a long time, without getting tired or distracted or wandering off to do something else, might make a good search-and-rescue dog. A puppy who is focused on play may grow up to be a dog who is focused on work, who will not give up until the job is done.

When Jakob plays with Ellie and the other puppies in her litter, he is actually checking to see which of them might grow up to be a good rescue dog. Ellie shows Jakob that she is smart, focused, and willing to follow his commands, which is why he chooses her.

How is a dog trained to do search-and-rescue work?

Training, at first, is a game that the dog plays. A dog who loves playing will come to think of its training simply as another game. A dog might first learn to find its owner. The owner runs away, usually with the dog's favorite toy, so that the dog can see her leave. Then the dog is allowed to chase her. Once the dog finds the owner, the owner plays and wrestles with her, letting the dog see how excited and pleased she is. The entire purpose of this early training is to make the dog think that finding people is marvelous fun!

Once the dog is good at finding its owner, it will move on to finding different people. The people hide in more and more difficult places, seeing whether the dog can locate them. Each time the dog finds someone, that person acts delighted to be found, and makes sure to play with the dog as a reward. This is the kind of training that Ellie is actually doing when she thinks she is playing Find Wally.

A dog must also practice climbing and balancing, so that it will be confident walking on any kind of surface. Some dogs (like Ellie) learn to be put in a special harness and lifted by a rope, so that they can be lowered down or pulled up cliffs, holes, shafts, or even carried by helicopters. Dogs who will do water rescue must learn to swim four miles or more in the open ocean.

Training a search-and-rescue dog takes up to two years. A dog (and its handler) will continue to train and practice as long as it is working.

What kind of training does the dog's handler have to do?

A lot! Besides learning to work with a dog, handlers have to master skills like first aid (for people and dogs), map reading, using a compass, how to survive in the wilderness, how to preserve a crime scene, and more. They also must be in good physical shape (as Maya learns) so that that they can keep up with a running dog and track people through miles of wilderness if they need to.

Who can be a search-and-rescue dog handler?

Police officers and firefighters may get special training to work with search-and-rescue dogs. Some people also volunteer to train their own dogs and help in search efforts. These people may work other jobs most of the time, but bring their dogs to help if someone is lost, or if there is a disaster and many people need help.

How do search-and-rescue dogs find people?

With their noses! A dog's nose is about a million times as sensitive as a human's. Dogs may follow scents on the air or on the ground. In either case, they are smelling the same thing: tiny pieces of hair and skin too small to be seen. People shed bits of their hair and skin all day long without knowing it. Dogs can smell these traces and follow them to the person they are hunting for.

It's easiest for a dog to follow a trail on a damp day without much wind, when the ground is a little bit warmer than the air. Those bits of hair and skin will cling to the ground for a long time on a day like that. Luckily for Geoffrey, it's that kind of day when he climbs into the sewer and gets trapped there. That means it's easier for Ellie to pick up his scent (even with her injured nose) than it would have been on a hot, dry day—as long as she can find him before the rain washes all his skin and hair away.

Could my dog be a search-and-rescue dog?

Most dogs start their training when they are a year old or younger. So if your dog is already a few years old, it's probably not suddenly going to become a search-and-rescue dog. Search-and-rescue dogs must work with adult handlers; the training is tough and the work can be dangerous. However, when you grow up, maybe you will decide that you want to train yourself and your dog for search-and-rescue work.

Where can I learn more about search-and-rescue dogs?

Want to find out more about dogs like Ellie? Here are some places to start:

American Rescue Dog Association

www.ardainc.org

Federal Emergency Management Association

www.fema.gov/urban-search-rescue

National Association for Search and Rescue

www.nasar.org

Search and Rescue Dog Heroes
by Linda Bozzo

Mountain Dog
by Margarita Engle

Search and Rescue Dogs: Expert Trackers and Trailers
by Elizabeth Ring

 

Reading and Activity Guide

Ages 8–12; Grades 3–7

Ellie's Story: A Dog's Purpose Novel
describes the life of a search-and-rescue dog, but its unique viewpoint makes it a fantastic resource for children or adults who love dogs simply as pets, too. From puppyhood to bonding with humans to working to save lives, readers of all ages will be gripped by Ellie's story and the insights it provides about humankind's best friends.

Reading
Ellie's Story: A Dog's Purpose Novel
with Your Children

Pre-Reading Discussion Questions

Help your young reader get excited about this book by exploring key words and ideas from the story. This will help strengthen the connections children make as they begin to read.

1.
    This book is titled
Ellie's Story: A Dog's Purpose Novel.
What is a “purpose”? What types of roles do dogs play in your community? What do you think is a dog's most important role?

2.
    What books have you read about dogs? Describe your favorite dog book, noting whether it was fiction or nonfiction, and what you liked best about the story.

3.
    Have you ever tried to train a dog or other pet? If so, what was the most surprising or challenging thing you learned about this process? If not, would you like to try dog training and what kind of dog (or other animal) might you like to train?

Post-Reading Discussion Questions

Some or all of the questions below may help launch family conversations or be useful preparation for the activities that follow.

1.
    Who narrates
Ellie's Story: A Dog's Purpose Novel?
Were you surprised when you realized the identity of the narrator? Why or why not?

2.
    In Chapter 1, Jakob chooses Ellie from a litter of German Shepherds. What are some of the key qualities he appreciates in the puppy?

3.
    What is “Work” to Ellie? Describe the steps Jakob takes to teach Ellie to understand “Work” and, later, “Find.” How is “Play” a very important part of Ellie's training process? Is play important for people, too? Explain your answer.

4.
    How does Jakob help Ellie conquer her fear of water? What rescue described in the story requires Ellie to deal with water? How does Ellie use her sense of smell to find a bad guy? Describe the way she does so.

5.
    What actions does Ellie take in the story that show she is an extraordinary rescue dog?

6.
    Why does Ellie have to leave Jakob and go to live with Maya? How does she react to this transition? How do you think Ellie's understanding of the change is similar to, and different from, the way a human understands such events?

7.
    What challenges does Maya face as she works to become Ellie's handler?

8.
    Ellie describes the different ways she is loved by Jakob, Maya, and other characters. Do these descriptions help you better understand relationships your dog (or dogs you know) have with you and other members of your community? Explain your answer.

9.
    List some key search-and-rescue missions Ellie undertakes before the trip to El Salvador. What makes the work searching through the earthquake rubble in El Salvador so different from her police work in the United States? How does Maya realize this and find a way to help Ellie with this new work?

10.
  Why can't Ellie return to “Work” after El Salvador? What does she do instead? What happens when Ellie and Jakob are reunited in the last chapter of the story? How did you feel when Jakob told Ellie, “You're a good dog”?

Post-Reading Activities

Take the story from the page to the pavement with these fun and inspiring activities for the dog-lovers in your family.

1.
    MAKE A “DOGS ARE AWESOME” POSTER. Inspired by the story, have children draw, paint, or glue magazine clippings, printed images found via parent-supervised Web searches, or other visual art material onto a large sheet of cardboard or foam core. The poster may include images of dogs playing with people, dogs at work, even dogs in cartoons. Mount the finished work in a place of prominence in your home.

2.
    TRY AN OBSTACLE COURSE. As part of her training, Jakob takes Ellie through an agility course. Design an obstacle course for people. Choose a space in your backyard or nearby park. Stations might include running between traffic cones, jumping rope, tunneling under a picnic blanket. Make signs explaining what course runners should do at each station. Be creative! Invite friends or neighbors to try the course. Consider a “parents-vs-kids” or other fun challenge race on the course.

3.
    MAKE A LEARNING LIST. Based on information from the book, collaborate with your child on a list of important “do's” for dog ownership and care. Consider listing things to look for in choosing a puppy, best practices for training young dogs, and ways to keep a growing dog feeling happy and purposeful.