Page 40 - BRAVO-3 | ISSUE 2 | JULY/AUGUST 2018

Nowhereistherubandwhatrealyhurtsrealtrailingdogsingeneral.Eveniftherequestingagencyfailsto acknowledgethetruthofwhatthedogdid,orIshouldsaydidnotdo,theproblem iswhentheyputtoomuch faithinthedogstrailandcommittoomanyresourcestoinvestigatingittothedetrimentofthesearch.Iam notsayingdon’tinvestigate;Iam sayingdon’tcommittoomanyresources.Ifthetrailingdoggoes180 degreesthewrongwayonanoldtrailinexcessof24hoursleadinginvestigatorstofolow-uponleadsalong thattrailandthenthesubjectisfounddeadintheoppositedirection,toomanyresourcewerecommitedto thedogstrail.Itisrealythatsimple.
Nowthatweareinanewmilennium,IhavediscoveredthattheblindfaithinAmericantrailingdogs,with manyagenciesthathadpreviouslyusedthem,isstartingtoerode.Manydepartmentsthatbegantheirown programswiththeagedparametertrailasthebackbonehavesincevanishedanddisappeared.Yes,there aresomethatstilexistandnewonesthatcropupfrom timetotime,butnothingtotheextentofwhatwesaw inthe1990’s.Thecrèmedelacrèmeofthem alwastheFBI’sK9forensicsprogram withsuperability bloodhoundsthatcouldmatchthescentoftheAnthraxatacksandfolow trailsmanyweeksoldwas
dandthedogsscentbacktothebreeder;aK9program thatjustquietlydisappeared.Whywould thishappenifthedogsweresogood?Theanswerisverysimple,theywerenotgood.Ibelievetheirwork wassubjectiveandactualycreatedproblemsininvestigationsratherthanhelpingthem.Ithinkthatthe d e c is io n to d is b a n d th e p ro g ra m w a s a s o u n d o n e . S til l, th e re a re h o ld o u ts ; th e re is th e “d ie h a rd ”, o v e r th e top,goingto“proveyouwrong”,handlerandtrainerouttherewhostubbornlyinsistthatwhattheydois viable.
Thesepeopleuseeverybitoffantasyandslightofhandtoprovethattheirdogsandtrainingcandowhat theyalwayssaidtheycando.And,theyuseeverypossibleavenuetodoso.Someusejunksciencewiththe h e lp o f “s c ie n tis ts ” o r p e o p le w ith u n re la te d P h D ’s to “s c ie n tific a l ly ” p u b lis h th a t th e p ro p e rly tra in e d bloodhoundortrailingdogisindeedreliableattrailsinexcessofmanydaysinage.Becausethepersonhas aPhD theyareoftenautomaticalygivencredence.However,rarelyisthedodiligencedonewiththese claims.Fewpeopleactualytestwhatthetesterstested!Again,itissimpleblindfaith.Nobodylookstoseeif
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isahiddenmotivatorormonetarycommondenominatorthatisinfluencingthepositiontobeginwith.Is truthrealysoughtorisitgreed?Ithinkitisthelaterinmanycasesorinsome,simplyduetothefactthatthe lie h a s g o n e o n fo r s o lo n g , to a d m it o th e rw is e is ta n ta m o u n t to s e lf-d e s tru c tio n fo r th o s e w h o h a v e maintainedtheagedtraildiseaseforsolong.
ThesadpartisthattrailingandhumanscentdiscriminationisagreatK9resourceandcanhaveavery positiveimpactonanyinvestigation.Theshamewaswhenagenciesthattooktheagedtrailbaithook,line, andsinker,nownolongerbelieveintrailingortrackingdogs.Theproblem wasnotthemessageoftrailingor tracking,itwasinthewaythemessagewasdelivered.But,oncebitenistwiceshyformanypeopleandI cannotblamethem evenalitle.
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