Kiesha came into my life on July 2, 2000 at just eight weeks old. Now, I’ve had dogs in my life since I can remember. My brother and I even used to raise and train Coon Hounds when we were teenagers. But, when I got Kiesha on that day in July, I had no idea what was in store for her. Or me, for that matter. About a month after Kiesha came to live with me and my family, I found out that there was a search and rescue team Oswego County. I joined the Oswego County Pioneers Search and Rescue team on October 5, 2000 and have remained a member ever since. I started training Kiesha in search work shortly after I joined the team. Kiesha and I became a certified operational K9 search team in April 2004. We went on about a dozen searches together all over New York. Sadly, in the end of 2007, Kiesha’s search work came to an end. Her hip problems had become so bad that she could no longer go into the field. On January 11, 2008 Kiesha was laid to rest. While I may have another K9 partner some day, I will never be able to replace her.

    I want to thank the OCSAR team for giving Kiesha and I an opportunity to be a part of the team. I also want to thank all of the K9 trainers that helped me out throughout our training. Whether we met in person, or just spoke on the phone for hours, you all were a great help. Special thanks need to go to my wife and step-kids for allowing Kiesha into our family and putting up with the hours of training. And finally, thank you, Kiesha. You were a great partner and the greatest K9 trainer I could have had. Thank you for teaching me how a dog works and what they need. I miss you very much.