Tamara Evans's Reviews > Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership with a Search-and-Rescue Dog

** spoiler alert ** “Scent of the. Missing: Love & Partnership with a Search-And-Rescue Dog” is a nonfiction memoir which chronicles author Susannah Charleson’s experience as a young field assistant and search-and-rescue (SAR) canine handler.

The book consists of an author’s note, twenty-five chapters, and epilogue, acknowledgments, and a bibliography.

In the author’s note, Charleson begins by making it clear to the reader that the book is a memoir of her experiences as a young field assistant and search-and-rescue canine handler. Likewise, Charleson expresses that the views the book are her own unless otherwise attributed. Charleson ends her author’s note by stating that although she’s changed some names, locations, and other details in her memoir to protect those effected, all the dogs named are real.

The memoir begins with Charleson working as a field assistant during a search for a missing woman. During the search, Charleson, canine Hunter, and Hunter’s human handler Max happen upon a small tent city but are unable to find the missing woman. Over a dinner with her fellow search-and-rescue teammates, a team member shares the news that Charleson is going to “work” a dog leading to much excitement by Charleson’s fellow teammates and advice on the best dog breed to partner with. Although Charleson considers various dog breeds such as a Border Collie and Aussie, several team members suggest Charleson work with a Golden Retriever due to its drive, stability, commitment to working with humans, congeniality, and its nose.

As the memoir progresses, Charleson arrives in Midland, Texas on a hot sway to get her new female canine partner after several close calls of golden retriever ownership that fell through. The puppy joining Charleson’s home is three elderly cats and six adult dogs. In addition to the existing pets in her home, Charleson also fosters dogs until they are unable to find a permanent home. Upon getting the puppy, Charleson names the new gold retriever Puzzle. Charleson is unable to distinguish whether or not Puzzle is a threat to Charleson’s other pets leading her to hire a dog trainer. Although Puzzle does well at work, at home she is stubborn and tends to bull her other pets.

Charleson shares stories of SAR searches with sad consequences as well as highlights the personalities and unique behaviors of her various pets. After a year of having Puzzle living in her home, an emergency occurs involving a snakebite. After surviving the snakebite emergency, Charleson realizes that Puzzle has not been “snake-proofed” which is a process involving controlled access to a living snake and a shock collar.

Just a few months before turning two years old Puzzle, must pass three SAR certification tests: wilderness, urban/disaster, and clear building in order to be promoted to senior status. After being told by a teammate that Puzzle is ready to move to the next level, this leads Charleson to analyze her health and stamina in reference to being about to keep up with a such a young puppy since Charleson is now in her mid-forties.

Following completion of the three certification tests, Puzzle is officially “mission ready” meaning she is ready to deploy on any land search involving potential live finds.

Charleson shares her personal experience with the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia and how her dogs were more attuned to the space shuttle explosion. Following days of searching the Columbia crash site, Charleson sees signs of canine grief by other dog teams such as withdrawing from play and stopping eating.

Charleson decides to choose a field assistant to train to handle Puzzle in the event that she becomes too sick to work her in the field. Other options Charleson considers are to either leave Puzzle to work with another handler or have Puzzle live quietly with Charleson as a pet. In the end, Charleson is able to convince a field assistant she knows to learn to work Puzzle as a backup plan, not as a definite plan. When the field assistant comes to work with Puzzle, she seems confused as to what’s happening but goes to work when instructed to do so. Charleson is in awe of seeing Puzzle work with the field assistant from a distance. Overtime, the field assistant says that although Puzzle will do the search, she wants to only do it with Susannah.

The memoir ends with Puzzle completing her first official search with Charleson for a missing senior citizen named Jimmy.

In the epilogue, Charleson shares that despite the initial thought that canine search-and-rescue teams would be replaced by GPS units, this has not been the case. Charleson provides updates on the service dogs who were featured in this book and her personal pets while sharing that she and Puzzle are still partners in the field.

As I finished reading the memoir, I was surprised to learn the process of becoming a search-and-rescue canine handler as well as the process in making themselves aware of dog vulnerabilities including hip issues, eye problems, and cancer. Likewise, I was shocked to learn that despite their years of training, search-and-rescue handlers are all volunteers. Likewise, most SARs pay to become canine handlers and most come from first responder backgrounds, enjoy the outdoors, and love dogs. In closing, I appreciated the down to earth writing style of Charleson as well as her providing photos of her, Puzzle, and her SAR teammates which to me added an additional layer of depth to the memoir.