TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Patti Farnsworth recently received an award for best teamwork for a missing pet case she and her dog, Opie, solved.
Opie is 6 years old and is a certified scent detection dog. Evan Loudermilk’s dog Sterling went missing and contacted Farnsworth’s missing pet service called CdE Scent Detection Dogs.
Loudermilk’s dog had been missing about a day and was found stranded on a sandbar in the middle of a creek. Farnsworth described that moment.
“We were surrounded in total darkness and i could hear the little dog whimpering and then I could hear the emotion that Evan in his voice when the two reunited,” said Farnsworth.
Farnsworth says k9 Opie’s breed, a Cirneco dell ‘Etna, is instinctively trained to hunt small game and use strategic thinking skills to figure out a situation. Opie’s breed is also quick and agile.
Farnsworth says the breed is relativity new to the United States, and the origins are from Sicily, Italy.
If your pet goes missing, it’s best to contact a search dog service sooner rather than later.
Farnsworth said contacting after one or two days is best. She said after that, it’s possible that a pet may have gotten too far away, making it hard for scent detection dogs to trace the scent.
She explained certain pets that may become easily lost.
“If you have a young puppy who’s not too with their area or if you have an older pet that that’s maybe deaf or sick,” said Farnsworth.
Farnsworth said walk-up finds are rare. This is when the pet is spotted and reunited with their owner. In most cases, the location of the pet is narrowed down or found, and the owner can search for their pet is in that general area. A local woman using the power of scent to reunite lost pets.
The next step for Farnsworth, is heading to New York with Opie’s cousin, Opal, for a special one-on-one training session with the national organization, pet search and rescue, later this month.
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