JAY — Jake Letendre and Reese, his twenty month old Labrador Retriever, are members of Maine Search and Rescue Dogs (MESARD). They recently visited Jay Elementary School to demonstrate what they can do.

Letendre got Reese from a breeder in Maryland when she was seven weeks old. There are certain criteria that dogs must exhibit if they are to be successful in search and rescue work. Those characteristics include nerve strength, or not being easily scared; hunt drive, or a willingness to never give up; and play or food drive, an eagerness to do what is asked to obtain a reward. 

Letendre said it usually takes about two years to train a dog. Reese is not fully wilderness air scent search certified yet, but Letendre hopes that she will be come August. During certification testing, Reese will be asked to find someone in 40 acres of thick brush without the use of GPS. She will also need to successfully complete a night time search of a 40 acre area.

Also for certification, Reese will be required to locate someone in a 160 acre area within an 8-hour time period. Finally, she will need to be successful at the “Big Stinky.” In this test, Reese will search a five acre area where she will be looking for a “hidden good-sized human remain sample,” Letendre said.

While training for obedience, Letendre uses food treats to reward Reese. When training for work in the field, Reese’s two prime rewards are a rubber Chuckit! ball or a Frisbee.

Reese comes from a field trial line of Labradors. “These dogs are proven to be high energy and make good working dogs,” Letendre said. At 55 pounds, she is a smaller lab. He said smaller dogs can work longer and get into places that larger dogs can’t access. “If she is injured, I can carry her out,” Letendre added.

Most search teams have dog teams trained for urban search and rescue. Maine is a very rural state, so wilderness trained dogs and their handlers are often needed. Wilderness trained dogs may also be needed anywhere in the country or the world.

Letendre said the closest Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) dog search and rescue site is located in Massachusetts. Letendre plans to eventually have Reese become FEMA certified so that he can assist with FEMA searches near or far. 

Before his work with Reese, Letendre served as a flanker for MESARD. He said flankers are an important part of the team as they care for navigation details, such as GPS and compass readings, so the handler can focus on his dog.

Letendre said MESARD is called out quite a bit. In 2013, teams responded to 33 calls. A computer program keeps track of all calls as well as the number of hours spent in training. Letendre said involvement in MESARD is one hundred percent voluntary. “Handlers spend a lot of money. I drove more than 4,500 miles for trainings and searches last year alone,” he added.

MESARD follows all industry standards, Letendre said. An outside instructor is usually hired to do a three-day training. This year, that training was held in April at Camp Wavus in Jefferson. Letendre said MESARD also has its own standard operating procedures that follow national standards.  “If a handler misses a training, it needs to be made up and approved,” he stated. 

Dog handlers and trackers are deployed through the Maine Game Warden Service. Game wardens control any search. Letendre said the specific situation, where in the state the incident occurred, and what resources are available or needed determine when a dog team is called for. He noted a missing diabetic without appropriate medications would see more resources called out than would an experienced hiker.

Letendre was involved three or four times as a flanker with the Geraldine Largay search in northern Franklin County. The Appalachian Trail hiker from Brentwood, Tenn., went missing almost two years ago after failing to meet her husband at a prearranged meeting place. No trace of the hiker has ever been found. “It was very rough terrain. A lot of hours were put into that,” Letendre said.

Many of the dog teams in MESARD are trained in advanced human remain detection. The teams spend time training for this type of work so the dogs won’t have any aversion to finding a bone or other body part. Letendre would also like to see Reese trained for this work. He could then promote her as another resource for area law enforcement agencies.

Letendre has given up all other hobbies and devotes most of his spare time to training and working with Reese. He said, “I take her everywhere except to work.” His duties with the Lewiston Fire Department mean that he is not always available to help on searches.

Letendre said MESARD strives to provide quality, qualified services to Maine families.

Reese and Letendre recently visited Jay Elementary School as part of the Spruce Mountain Afterschool program. The program is funded, in part, through a five year 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) grant. This is the the third year of the funding which permits after school activities for grades 3-5 at Jay Elementary School and Livermore Elementary School as well as grades 6-8 at Spruce Mountain Middle School.

Spruce Mountain Afterschool provided support to students academically and socially. Through ‘Study Buddies’, teachers and UMF students served as tutors to help students with their academics.

Enrichment, hands on programming which provided opportunities for students to learn real life skills, took place at the conclusion of Study Buddies. Students who may struggle during the day are given a chance to be successful and leaders among their peers during this time.

During Enrichment, students learned to cook, solve problems, and be part of a team. They also were exposed to LEGO Robotics and STEM activities which focus on the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. Community members were also invited to share their skills and area of expertise with the students. 

Zachary Keene, in his first year as coordinator of the Jay Elementary School Afterschool program, invited Jake Letendre and Reese to visit before school finished for the year. During their hour-plus visit, Letendre talked with the students about MESARD and the time commitment involved. he then demonstrated some of the skills Reese must be adept at and what a search looks like.

Letendre said, “Visiting the school was good public relations for MESARD.” He added, having the story told in the paper will help people recognize the time and effort put into it by team members.

Keene said, “The kids were all fired up about their visit. All the teachers knew about it the next day.”

[email protected]