Jeff grabbed our gear and we jumped into his truck and drove out to the forest preserves. We were the second team there and another pulled in right behind us.

The little girl's name was Amy. She was only five years old. Her parents and brother were very worried. The ten year old brother Kyle wanted to go look for her, but his mom and dad didn't want to lose him in the woods, too. They said they called and called for Amy and even went into the woods a few hundred feet, but Amy couldn't be seen or heard. That's when they called us.

Jeff and I and the other two teams were ready for the search. We wanted to find Amy fast because it would be dark soon. Our teams split up to search a wide area. We were part of the team in the middle.

As we walked into the woods, Jeff looked at me and said, "Okay Hunter, this is the real deal. Ready to go to work?"

I looked at Jeff with confidence and he scratched me behind the ears.

"Search Hunter," Jeff said. "Find Amy. Find her."

I smelled the air trying to find a scent. Then, all of a sudden, I picked up a scent. Could this be the lost girl Amy?

Jeff saw my ears perk up and he knew I was onto something.

"Find her, Hunter. Find Amy," said Jeff with excitement in his voice.

As we moved faster though the woods, the scent was getting stronger and stronger. I knew someone was out there and Jeff knew I was onto something. We just hoped it was Amy.

Through the woods we went and then into a clearing. Then we saw the little girl. She was laying on the ground next to a big tree and fast asleep. She probably fell asleep and didn't hear her family calling to her.

Jeff scratched me behind the ears and exclaimed, "Good boy, Hunter! Good work!" He called on his radio and told the team leader we found Amy. Then he bent down over her and gently called, "Amy... Amy wake up."

Amy woke up, looked at Jeff and then looked at me and smiled.

Jeff said, "That's Hunter and I'm Jeff. Your parents were worried about you and sent us to find you. Are you ready to go home now?"

Still a little sleepy, Amy shook her head yes and smiled a big smile.

As we came out of the woods Amy's mom ran over to hug her with her dad and her brother right behind. They all gave Amy another hug and told her how worried they were and not to ever go into the woods by herself again.

Amy's mother stood up and thanked Jeff for finding her daughter. Jeff looked at me and said, "It was Hunter who did all the work."

Wow! Hearing Jeff say that really made me proud of my work.

Amy's mother asked, "Can we pet Hunter?"

Jeff said, "Sure! He'd be disappointed if you didn't."

The whole family gathered around me and started petting me. They told me how good I was and thanked me. Amy's mom had tears in her eyes as she gave me a quick kiss on the nose and then got up.

Our first Search and Rescue was over, but it was a happy time as we headed back home. When we got home, I jumped out of the truck and ran for the back yard all excited.

Half way laughing Jeff yelled, "Hey, come here Hunter."

I ran back to Jeff. He rubbed me and scratched behind my ears and said, "You did a great job today Hunter. Good boy."

I playfully barked a couple times. Jeff laughed and said, "Let's get some dinner!"

That was our first Search And Rescue and the event that made me a real SAR Dog! We had many more missions after that, but the first is the one you never forget.

Now that you know all about SAR Dogs and how we work, go to the next page to learn some things you should do when you go to the forest.