{"id":8220,"date":"2013-11-14T09:03:55","date_gmt":"2013-11-14T17:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/?p=8220"},"modified":"2013-11-21T12:35:26","modified_gmt":"2013-11-21T20:35:26","slug":"labrador-retriever-hunts-people-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/2013\/11\/14\/labrador-retriever-hunts-people-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"Labrador Retriever Hunts People For Fun"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Lani_rehab\"<\/a>Meet the new face of the College of Veterinary Medicine: Lani McIlroy.<\/p>\n

Lani is a seven year old Labrador Retriever with a gentle, quiet personality, whose photo (taken by VTH Associate Director Ron Mandsager) is now featured on the college Facebook<\/a> page banner. But what makes her a rock star is her \u2018job\u2019 with the Benton County Sheriff\u2019s Office \u2013 Lani is a Region 3 Search and Rescue Canine.<\/p>\n

Dr. Wendy McIlroy is a retired veterinarian who started training Lani when she was 6 months old. \u201cI lived in Kauai and there had just been a big dam break,\u201d says McIlroy. \u201cThere was a flood, and some people missing, and they deployed a dog team. I thought that was really cool.\u201d McIlroy had been thinking about getting a dog anyway, and after chatting with the search and rescuers, decided it was something she wanted to pursue. She got Lani and they hit the ground running \u2013 literally.<\/p>\n

When most people think of search and rescue dogs, they picture Bloodhounds or German Shepherds. But McIlroy says most breeds can do it. \u201cObviously the brachycephalic dogs with squishy noses don\u2019t work too well but I\u2019ve seen good disaster dogs that are Jack Russell Terriers,\u201d she says. \u201cYou have to train the dog that fits your personality. I\u2019m a Lab person. I have friends who have Bloodhounds that are hilarious, and a blast to work with, but I would never own a Bloodhound. It\u2019s not because they aren\u2019t good dogs, it\u2019s just a personal preference.\u201d The one thing a dog needs to be a successful search and rescue dog is a good play drive. \u201cThat is what you are looking for,\u201d says McIlroy. \u201cHe has to want that toy, and only that toy, and he will not quit until he gets it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lani trains two days a week and attends group training around the state. Sometimes, McIlroy stages an urban search to keep Lani sharp. \u201cI ask a friend to help. I send them three blocks up to sit in a coffee shop and ask Lani to find them. It\u2019s her favorite game \u2013 to find people.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On Lani\u2019s most recent search and rescue mission, she didn\u2019t find the person they were looking for, but she found where they had been. \u201cIt turns out they had gotten a ride,\u201d says McIlroy. \u201cRight when we were standing there trying to figure out what to do, the person came back to see what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the last few years, the widespread use of cell phones has affected the outcome of search and rescue missions. \u201cSome of the searches end before they happen,\u201d says McIlroy. \u201cI want to say, \u2018Can they please stay hidden for another fifteen minutes so my dog can do her thing?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

A year ago in September, Lani suffered a torn cruciate ligament in her left knee and had TPLO surgery to stabilize the joint. Now she comes to the VTH once a month for rehab on the underwater treadmill. \u201cIt keeps her in good shape and moving the way she should,\u201d says McIlroy. This has enabled Lani to cover the long distances needed for search and rescue. \u201cWe very rarely go less than three miles a day, and it\u2019s usually more like five or six. I get nervous if we have to do a search in a place where there are lots of logs to jump over, but she is very careful with herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lani will soon be mentoring a new puppy named Moira. \u201cThey won\u2019t actually work together \u2013 that\u2019s only in the movies \u2013 but the puppy can learn from her,\u201d says McIlroy. \u201cI\u2019ll take them on little trails and the puppy can follow along. And she can learn basic manners from her. At least that\u2019s the theory.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet the new face of the College of Veterinary Medicine: Lani McIlroy. Lani is a seven year old Labrador Retriever with a gentle, quiet personality, whose photo (taken by VTH Associate Director Ron Mandsager) is now featured on the college Facebook page banner. But what makes her a rock star is her \u2018job\u2019 with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1802,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2591],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-clinics"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3DBMX-28A","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1802"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8220"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8229,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8220\/revisions\/8229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofveterinarymedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}