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Show sC&&kie? him diu jh v i I ; Thisisthe story ofadog. . . And it's also the story of a man. THE DOG is playful 85-pound German Shepherd named Cookie. Like many dogs. Cookie is registeredbut reg-isteredbut unlike most dogs, Cookie is also a member of an association. asso-ciation. And it's a tough association. As one of some20othercanines, she is a member of the elite Rocky Mountain Moun-tain Rescue Dogs. The dogs have no membership card, but they do have a nose-and it's their nose and their ability to cover ground quickly quick-ly that makes them a missing man's best friend. COOKIE WILL soon be used for search and rescue operations, especially for the finding of lost children. And she'll be surrounded by children Saturday, Oct. 5, in a search and rescue exhibit at the Layton Hills Mall annual Health Fair. She'll be center stage among clowns and T-shirt raffles and balloons, bal-loons, all sponsored by the Davis County Sheriffs Jeep Patrol. "She's quite large," says her master and Jeep Patrol commander Bill Jensen. "But she's especially large on love. If she comes running after you, you can expect a lot of love and kisses." COOKIE WAS purchased one year ago by Bill and his wife Debbie. De-bbie. At the time, Cookie was geared to be a family pet, but Bill's interest in search and rescue led him to begin training the animal in scent discrimination. The training has since become a tamily altair, with the Jensens and their four children chil-dren becoming "lost" during mock rescue attempts. It's not all a game for Cookie; in fact, she was visibly shaken when Bill hoisted her up a sheer cliff during one practice session. ses-sion. But a lost child is no game. And Bill is excited about her potential heroism. "We practice with herab-out herab-out eight hours each week and then she joins the other dogs 16 times each year for additional training,' he says. "It will all pay off one day when she is able to save a life." AND THAT brings up the story of a man. Bill Jensen has been involved in law enforcement most of his adult life. And during this time he's been surrounded by tragedy. "A DEPUTY'S life can be difficult diffi-cult psychologically," he says. "You're too frequently called at the time of tragedy. And this carries car-ries over into the family. I'm not home that much, creating stess in the family as well. It's part of being in law enforcement." And the tragedy has left its mark. One of his first sons-a twin- battled bat-tled a rare infant disease and, as he remembers, "We almost lost him several times." The boy survived, leaving the family $80,000 in debt, but more appreciative of the tenuous life experience. Later, as a State Park ranger, Bill came within several feet of saving a 16-year old boy at Willard Bay. Bill had been slowed by a broken leg-and the boy drowned. ' "YOU REMEMBER these things," he says, "and you vow to do something to help. Cookie will help. Rescue dogs have been used in Europe ever since the end of World War II, searching out people trapped in avalanches, debris or bodies of water. They are a lot more effective than a human search party. When Fawna Gillette was missing, searchers walked within two feet of her hiding place. A dog would have discovered her immediately. "And that's one of my messags to the public. Dogs can be used to our benefit-and in fact they are being used in many parts of Utah. Rocky Mountain Rescue Dogs have been used in Weber, Utah; BILL JENSEN AND 'COOKIE' Iron and Sevier Counties, and in BILL, "what's important is that the future they'll be used else- you are in a special field where you where, too." can help someone. It makes up for all the hours spent and the time COOKIE WILL be among them. away from the family. But with my Bill and his family are training family's involvement in the dog's Cookie for special use in locating training, we're also sharing missing children. Cookie." 'After a while in law enforcement, enforce-ment, the gun and the badge are not AND, IF Bill is right. Cookie will of paramount importance, "says later share with us as well. |