Lori Wells and Piglet – Heroes in Tragedy

Lori Wells and Piglet were winners of the AKC Humane Fund Award for Canine Excellence in the Search and Rescue category. They were honored at the AKC National Championship in Orlando, Fla. last month.

Volunteer and Rare Breed Dog Provide Families Closure in Tragedies

Piglet is a 7 year old Catahoula Leopard Dog trained and certified to discover human remains, one of fewer than a half-dozen of her breed working in Search and Rescue.

Wells said that the dogs feel the intensity of a search that ends with sorrow.

“Absolutely. They know. They’re very intuitive,” Wells observed, while Piglet cuddled closer to her handler, responding to Wells’ emotion. “There’s such a relationship and bond you make and build with these guys through the training. You’re in tune with each other. These are our companions. Our family.”

Family Bonds in Search and Rescue

Wells and her husband met doing Search and Rescue. They work with an entirely volunteer organization that will deploy wherever their help is needed. Working to locate human remains is a very hard and emotional aspect of the Search and Rescue job, but “it’s a fabulous answer for a family that’s grieving,” Wells said.

“When they told me we won (the ACE award), I was overwhelmed,” Wells said. “It’s such a huge honor to be recognized.”

Piglet the Catahoula Leopard Dog

Catahoula Leopard Dogs may not be common in Search and Rescue work, but Wells said their hunt drive makes them well suited to the task.

“(Catahoulas) are the state dog of Louisiana,” Wells noted. “They were bred to herd and hunt. American Indians developed the breed in the early 1800s. Their heritage includes Beauceron, a little bit of hound dog, Spanish mastiff. And red wolf.

“Any good search dog has to have phenomenal hunt drive. Piglet comes from cow dog lines. There are cow dogs or hog dogs. Cow dogs are more settled, sensible minded.”

 

Wells added that the breed’s stamina helps them succeed in Search and Rescue where multiple, grueling three to four hour shifts are normal.

Lori Wells and Piglet’s Success as a Team

Piglet has successfully located the deceased victims of air crashes and drownings. In one case finding a victim in California underwater after eight days of searching by rescue and law enforcement personnel.

“It takes a lot of blood sweat and tears (to train the dogs for the work),” Wells said. “A lot of hard work. A lot of time. It’s expensive with the mileage driven. But it’s a bond with your dog. There are a lot of books you can read (to learn how to train), but there’s nothing like doing it.”

Training a Search and Rescue Dog

Just like anything our dogs do for us, search and rescue dogs work for a reward. For some dogs it is toy drive, so they want to play tug or ball.

“For mine,” Wells said, “I always trained them to want mommy’s love. They are so happy they’ve made me happy, so just a whole bunch of love. Because I always have that. Handlers forget treats. I’ve always got love. That’s how i do it.”

Wells has trained five trailing dogs for Search and Rescue, but Piglet is the first she’s trained for locating human remains.

Lori Wells and Bloodhounds

Lori also trains Bloodhounds for Search and Rescue.

“When (Bloodhounds) are on scent, they’re on scent,” Wells noted wryly. “They go. You better just keep up. Just that go forward.