Mary and Butch, along with K-9 partners “Willow,” “Badger”, “Buddy”, and “Robin”; are all proud members of Kinzua Search Dogs. Kinzua Search Dogs is a not for profit, 501 (c ) 3 all volunteer Search and Rescue dog team dedicated to the effort of locating missing persons. Based in southwestern New York, Kinzua Search Dogs conducts searches in New York State as well as Pennsylvania. Robin, Willow, and Buddy also have the privilege of serving as Search and Detection K-9's with their "partner," Deputy Mary MacQueen, in the local Sheriff's Department.
| Search and Rescue K-9 Willow is a female Golden Retriever who started her career in Search and Rescue (SAR) work in early 1999. Willow was introduced to the world of SAR at the tender age of 8 weeks. Being introduced at such a young age allowed Willow to build a very strong foundation in SAR work. Willow and Mary spent as many as 25 hours each week reinforcing the basics of finding human scent (both live and cadaver), and continue to work regularly in an effort to add to, and reinforce that foundation training. |
 "Mary and Willow" |
 "Badger on the Job" |
 "Badger and Butch Avalanche training" |
Willow and Badger were started in the "air scent" discipline, which means they are trained to find ANY human scent being carried on air currents. This method of search work is particularly handy when trying to locate a subject who's starting point is unknown. It is also imperative for ruling out areas in question within the probable search zone. It is not necessary to have a scent article from the person to do this type of searching. Mary, Butch, Willow, and Badger were fortunate to have had the assistance of several different SAR dog teams and training experts in order be tested and gain certification in this discipline.
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Willow has also been trained in the field of off lead trailing, which allows her to follow a specific persons scent to the source. A scent article from the missing person is very useful in this type of search. The advantage to off lead trailing is the amount of time saved by allowing the dog to range out from the handler on it's own at the dog's pace. Once the find is made, the dog returns to take the handler back to the subject. Other disciplines in which Willow and Badger have been trained include cadaver search, water search, building and debris search, and snow burial. |
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 "Mary and Robin on patrol" |
 "Buddy finds drugs!" |
Robin and Buddy are the K-9 specialists within the Sheriff's Department. While Buddy specializes in Mantrailing and Narcotics detection, Robin excels in scent discriminating Mantrailing and Human Remains Detection. Both of these exceptional police K-9's received their high levels of training through a nationally renowned K-9 training school operated by Behesha Grist, The Extreme K-9 Search and Detection Academy, of Salem Illinois http://www.beheshagrist.com. Mary and her K-9's owe many thanks to Behesha Grist and her staff for their uncanny ability to understand the whole dog, and their ability to be able to provide the specialized assistance needed in training of these talented police K-9's.
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In 2002, Willow had the privilege of being 'cover girl' for the September issue of Dog World Magazine. It was the anniversary issue in tribute to 9/11, and showcased the training of Search and Rescue Dogs. The article featured numerous photographs of both Willow and Buddy in action. Robin and Buddy were also featured in the Popular Dogs Series Magazine's February 2005 issue of Training Secrets for Golden Retrievers. The article referenced the in depth training techniques needed to prepare a Search and Detection dog for duty. Nitro Golden Retrievers feels truly honored to have such high achievers as Willow, Robin, Buddy and Badger in their ranks.
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