Pittsfield man seeks to close gap in search/rescue resources By Justin A. Cobb In the aftermath of the massive six-hour July 7-8 search for a three-year-old girl lost in a cornfield, a Pittsfield man is committed to expanding Pike and surrounding counties’ search capabilities and give parents of young children, caregivers of vulnerable persons, and loved ones of hunters and hikers greater peace of mind. Ryan Crowder is starting a nonprofit organization to fund the acquisition and training of search-and-rescue dogs, with which he and anyone else interested and willing to commit the time and effort could train and work, he said in an interview Friday morning. Crowder, who has been working with tracking dogs for approximately four years, including his four-and-a-half year old German shepherd Roxy, recognized a gap in the area’s current resources and believes adding a bloodhound to the current roster of search-and-rescue dogs available here would be a crucial part of the solution. The nearest trained and certified bloodhound is two hours away, “which is a long time to wait,” Crowder said, when a loved one is missing. “Where my dog is trained is article indication, meaning if you’re walking across a field and lose an item, she will locate it.” She has some training in area search, but German shepherds do not have the scent discrimination capability of a bloodhound. “With an area search, when we’re called to the scene, law enforcement is there, they and the family have looked a little bit. “You’re rolling onto the scene, and it’s not just your scent. Now it’s everybody’s scent. The scene is extremely contaminated. “She’s not trained for that!” A BLOODHOUND, in contrast, is innately more capable of scent discrimination. “A bloodhound can have the scene with everyone everywhere, everything contaminated, and you can take an article of clothing, a pillow case, a cigarette butt, swab the door handle,” and the dog will take to the scent and doggedly search for the person from whom it originated. “A bloodhound has been known to track a (single individual) up to 130 miles. They’re completely wired differently with their sense of smell. “There’s not a dog in the county that can track like that.” Whereas trained German shepherds track using the change in ground scent caused by crushing of vegetation underfoot, Bloodhounds track individual human scent left by the continual shedding of “rafts” of skin cells, Crowder said via email Monday morning. Olfactory receptors thought to be attuned to human scent are located throughout the mucus membranes lining a bloodhound’s nasal passages, and bone channels throughout the nasal cavity exponentially increase the surface area of those passages, giving the dog unparalleled odor sensitivity. “The surface area of odor detection membrane of a human can be laid out on postage stamp; a bloodhound’s membrane could be laid out over their entire body,” Crowder wrote. Crowder has located a trained, certified bloodhound, Nick, available for sale by a San Antonio police officer, Melissa Stormer, Crowder said Friday. “(Stormer) wants (Nick) to have a family life and also work, not sit in a patrol car 12 hours a day.” Nick comes with a guarantee of health and guaranteed contract for workability. “He’s four years old and has a lot of deployment hours on him. He’s rock solid, ready to work.” San Antonio police “have used him on what (the owner) called drive-and-dumps, meaning when the person pulls over, they bail and run.” Nick has a calm temperament and is very good with children. He has been used for “stranger danger” programs in elementary schools, something Crowder would like to do here. “My dog (Roxy) is too hyper (for that).” OBTAINING NICK would be just the beginning of Crowder’s plan to help improve the area’s search-and-rescue dog corps. He has spoken with Pittsfield Main Street executive director Christy Davenport about how to get the nonprofit organization set up, Crowder said via email. “(S)he is going to email a man who will help us set up a business plan for the organization and I have to have 7 board members in the organization.” Once set up, the organization will obtain a tax ID number to allow donors to deduct their contributions from their income taxes. Crowder has already established an account with Farmers National Bank of Griggsville to accept donations. The process of setting up a nonprofit organization and registering it with the state, Internal Revenue Service, and other such entities is “quite a process” so “it will take a while to set up.” Meanwhile, “for now, I would like to have the funds to be able to go and pick Nick up in Texas in the beginning of August.” Griggsville and Pittsfield fire departments have already pledged money toward obtaining Nick, and Pike County Emergency Corps are on board, Crowder said Friday. Pike County Sheriff’s Sgt. David Greenwood, Pike County Emergency Management Agency director, spoke in support of Crowder obtaining the bloodhound. “I think it would be a great asset to have, a great tool to have on a search for a child or anybody, an elderly person,” Greenwood said by phone Monday afternoon. Nick will not belong to the county, nor will he be confined to assisting the county. “This dog is a resource to be used by our department and any other department, not just for (Pike County) but a resource to be used for all surrounding fire departments and law enforcement. “This isn’t ‘Ryan Crowder wants a new dog.’ This is ‘Ryan Crowder loves the community. I love dogs. I love the community. I just see a need.” In addition to training and working with dogs, Crowder serves as a volunteer firefighter on Pittsfield Fire Department and is devoted to help the community where he grew up, continues to live, and is now raising a family of his own. “I feel very strongly if we had a bloodhound at the little girl’s search (July 7-8), everybody would’ve been (back) home in an hour. “I can’t guarantee a find every time. That’s just not how dogs work, but I can promise, if I’m available, I’m willing to come and show up.” DONATIONS ARE CURRENTLY being sought, both to help Crowder obtain Nick and to help kickstart the search-and-rescue dog trust fund Crowder is setting up. Cash donations may be left at the Pike County Express office, 129 North Madison Street, Pittsfield, on the northwest corner of the square. Donations by check should be sent to Farmers National Bank of Griggsville, either the main branch, 108 West Quincy, Griggsville, or Pittsfield branch, 201 West Washington, payable to “Pike County Search Dogs.” “If you can donate $50 and it’s your kid lost, it’s a lot of peace of mind. No donation is too small,” Crowder said Friday. Contact Ryan Crowder at (217) 491-0025 to find out other ways you can contribute or for more information.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 17:40:19 +0000
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