Lost search and rescue dog Vito is found
Vito is supposed to find the missing, not go missing, but that’s what he did Thursday during a search and rescue exercise in Maryland.
The 3-year-old, mostly black German shepherd was working with his handler at White Marsh Park off Route 3 in Bowie when he got distracted by a fox and ran off, according to his handler, Sonja Heritage, of the Fairfax County, Virginia, search and rescue team.
WTOP radio reports he has since been found and reunited with his handler.
Heritage, who put up fliers and contacted local animal shelters after he went missing, said it was little embarassing since Vito is a highly trained search and rescue dog. But, she added, even the best-trained dogs can get distracted.
“A dog is a dog,” she said.
Posted by jwoestendiek January 9th, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animals, Bowie, disappeared, distracted, dog, dogs, exercise, fairfax county, fire, found, fox, handler, lost, maryland, missing, pets, police, rescue, returned, reunited, search, search and rescue, Sonja Heritage, virginia, vito, white marsh park
Comment from Tim Hargis
Time January 9, 2012 at 1:23 pm
I can see how it would be a little embarassing to lose a dog meant to find others, but at the end of the day I’m just glad that he’s safe and back with is handler.