From homeless dog to hero: the story of a rescue dog

Have you ever wondered how rescue dogs live? Tick, a German Shepherd from Fort Wayne, Indiana, works on a search and rescue dog team called the Indiana Search and Response Team.

Fateful meeting

Thicke’s fate was sealed when Fort Wayne police officer Jason Furman found him on the outskirts of town. When he saw Tick, the German Shepherd was eating from a discarded fast food bag.

Ferman says: “I got out of the car, clicked my lips a few times, and the dog ran in my direction. I wondered if I should hide in the car, but the dog’s body language told me that it wasn’t a threat. Instead, the dog came up to me, turned around and sat on my leg. Then she started to lean towards me for me to pet her.”

At that time, Ferman already had experience working with dogs. In 1997, he began training his first rescue dog. This dog then retired and later died. “When I stopped training, I started to get stressed, I became short-tempered and felt like I was missing something.” And then Tick appeared in his life.

Before bringing the dog to the shelter, Ferman did some small trials with the dog, using dog treats he kept in his car. “I made a note on the information sheet that if he doesn’t have a chip and no one comes for him, then I would like to take him with me.” Indeed, no one came for the German Shepherd, so Ferman became her owner. “I started training Tic and my stress levels dropped drastically. I found what I was missing and I hope I never have to go through that kind of change again.” And so, on December 7, 2013, Thicke received his K-9 service dog certification from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to search for the living missing.

Tick ​​accepts the challenge

March 22, 2015 began like any other day in Ferman’s life. On his way to work, he received a call from a K-9 officer to report that at approximately 18:30 p.m., an 81-year-old man with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia had gone missing. The call came in at 21:45. The man was dressed only in underwear and pajama bottoms, and the temperature outside was near freezing. Even after bringing in the police department’s bloodhound team, they needed more help and asked if Tick and the other dogs on the Indiana Search and Response Team could help.

Ferman took Thicke away on duty, and another bloodhound arrived with his master. The Bloodhound began to work with the smell of the missing man’s robe offered to her. “Later we learned that the son of the missing man also wore this robe … And it ended up that we followed the trail of our son,” Ferman said. — 

We went to the place where the police sleuths had lost track and ran into firemen and even an environmental officer riding an ATV. They advised to conduct a visual analysis of the territory and a check using a thermal imager. A helicopter was also involved in the search, inspecting the area from the air with a searchlight … Most of this area was surrounded by large channels with steep banks, which would be difficult for anyone to climb, not to mention the missing person, who already moved with difficulty. We checked the bank of the canal and then went downwind to where the officer said he had lost track. At about 01:15, Tick let out a short bark. He is trained to stay with the victim and constantly bark until I approach. I was nearby, and when I got to the victim, he was lying on his side on the bank of a shallow ravine, his head down to the water. He pushed Tic away from his face. Tic likes to lick the faces of people who don’t respond to him.”

The 81-year-old man was taken to the hospital and returned home a couple of days later. The wife asked if he remembered anything.

He replied that he remembered the dog that had licked his face.