Trust Your Dog

By Sherri Gallagher

"Trust Your Dog" is a collection of five short stories about a twelve year old boy, Shane O'Hara, and his adventures with the family search and rescue dogs. It demonstrates the self-reliance needed to grow up in a household with the motto "so that others may live". In "Alone" he is trapped at home, alone, while his parents are on a search to rescue two girls lost in the storm. Cutoff and without electricity, can he manage to keep the family pets, horses, and home safe? In the second story "Base Camp" his mom is pressed into an emergency search for a heart attack victim. There isn't time to get an adult to help and save the subject of the search. Shane has to step up and handle the adult responsibilities of managing search resources and organizing the rescue effort. Can he organize untrained and ill equipped strangers to make the search a success? The third story is "New Partner". Mom's current partner, Taz, is getting old and she needs to start using her younger dog, Clara. But Mom isn't ready. Can Shane help mom learn to trust her dog? In the fourth story "Handler Down" Shane is pushed to his limits. While on at a training exercise his mom is shot and Shane has to use Clara to find her before it is too late. Can he get there in time and will he know what to do if he does? In the last story, "Fitness Turns into a Find" Shane and his mom are out running with the dogs when a local woman disappears. Shane may not be old enough to be a handler but Mom is sure he can do it. Can Shane handle Clara on a real search or will he make a mistake that costs an innocent woman her life?

The author, Sherri Gallagher, has been training and handling search and rescue canines since the late 1990's she brings the authenticity of her experiences to life on the pages of these stories and let's the reader know what it is like to grow up in a household where the motto is "so that others may live".

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sherri Gallagher
• Release date: Apr 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301743636

Sherri Gallagher

Sherri Grew up in Syracuse, NY surrounded by German Shepherds and spent her summers hiking the Adirondack Mountains. For the first ten years of their marriage, she and her husband owned and showed Afghan Hounds. While they kept Afghans as pets, German Shepherds were always Sherri’s first love. In 1993, she purchased Taz, who led her into the world of canine search and rescue. The started an American Rescue Dog Association Unit in 1999 and became operational in 2000. Taz was followed by Clara, Lektor, Belle and now Orex.

Book preview

Trust Your Dog

One Teen's Journey

By Sherri Gallagher

Copyright 2013 Sherri Gallagher

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Alone

Base Camp

New Partner

Handler Down

Physically Strong and Mentally Alert

About the Author

Other Books by this Author

Sample Chapter of Dangerous Turn Ahead

Alone

Shane O'Hara's mom tapped him on the shoulder.Time for bed.

Shane groaned, Not already. A glance at the clock told him his mom was right. He climbed slowly to his feet, hoping to get a few more minutes of television.

The phone rang. His mom hurried to answer it. Shane sat back down knowing all she could do was make faces or point until she hung up. There would be enough warning to hurry up to bed before that happened.

Hello, Mom said. Her happy expression changed in an instant to one that was all business. Only one thing would do that: a call to find a missing person. All thoughts of bed disappeared. Shane openly eavesdropped on the conversation. Mom handed off the telephone to Dad and gave Shane the look. He headed for the stairs. He grabbed his toothbrush and snuck back down to the third step from the bottom. His parents couldn't see him and he could hear the conversation while he brushed.

Okay, activate Brian and Babe and put the downstate team on stand-by in case we need more dogs. Dad hung up the phone.

Shane peeked around the corner. His mom stood like a statue, waiting. What is it? she asked.

Dad exhaled a deep breath. Two third-grade girls got separated from a class field trip in Glacier State Park. They've been missing for over six hours. The rangers have activated us.

How prepared are they for the cold? Mom's voice shook.

No one is sure. Definitely snowsuits and boots, but hats and gloves are a question. Shane could hear his dad walking toward the stairs.

Mom's voice got closer too. I think the church has Amanda on call to sit for Shane. Any idea how long before she gets here?

Shane launched from the stairs. I don't need a sitter. I want to go with you. I understand base and the dogs. I can help.

Mom shook her head. You know the rules: No one under eighteen on a search. She brushed the hair back from his forehead. Some of the stuff we see isn't so nice. It gives me nightmares sometimes. I don't want it giving them to you.

Shane jerked his head away from her. I'm not a baby. I'm going to be twelve in a few months. You having the church set up a babysitting group just for me has all my friends laughing and teasing me. If you won't let me go, then let me stay home alone.

Mom's smile disappeared. Not going to happen. You sleep too soundly. Someone could come in and steal the bed out from under you and you wouldn't notice. Taz won't be here to protect you, so you'll have to have a stiff upper lip. You get a sitter until I say otherwise.

Shane wanted to throw something. Mom was impossible. He spun around and stomped off to bed. Let her get her own gear together. If he was too much of a baby to go along, then he was too much of a baby to help pack.

In the dark of his room, he listened to his parents' movements while they loaded the truck. His mom came in bringing a whiff of the lavender oil she used to treat cuts and nicks that came as a part of training dogs. He pretended to be asleep.

She brushed a light kiss on his forehead and whispered, I love you.

Shane wanted to cry. Throwing a temper tantrum was being a big baby, and Mom didn't need distractions. Night searches were dangerous and only done when a life was at stake. The park where she was going had lots of drop-offs and cliffs. She needed to be focused, not worrying about his dumb stunts. He reached out, fighting to get his arms out from the