WEBVTT - Melissa Wolfenbarger: Trace Sargent | Part 3 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:12.600 The first time I ever saw a working dog, I 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:14.640 was four or five years old, and there was a 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:19.000 dog helping a visually impaired lady crossposta leon in downtown 0:00:19.120 --> 0:00:23.360 atlant As always, my mother took great care and concern, 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:29.680 explaining everything that dog was doing, listening for cars, watching 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:32.760 for cars and other people, making sure when the light 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:36.960 changed they had time to cross the street. I was amazed. 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:40.080 I mean, we had a dog, but he couldn't do 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:44.120 any of that. And she explained that this dog was 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:49.559 at work, not just a family pet, but literally he 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:53.000 had a job. And I told her that I didn't 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.000 know dogs could have jobs, and she said to me, 0:00:56.840 --> 0:01:01.280 you've seen other dogs working on farms, heard animals, you've 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:05.319 seen dogs in movies. That's a job, like Lassie had 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:07.840 a job. I had never thought about it that way. 0:01:08.480 --> 0:01:11.440 She said that our local jewelry store had that watchdog. 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:16.160 And of course I knew that dogs would sometimes search 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:21.200 and chase down escaped convicts, so my mind was blown. 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:24.880 I did know all of those things to be true. 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:28.479 I knew that dogs did have jobs, I just never 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:31.960 really thought about it. And I certainly didn't know they 0:01:32.000 --> 0:01:35.279 had jobs where they helped people well, later in my career, 0:01:35.319 --> 0:01:38.400 of course, I've been very fortunate to work with dogs 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:44.320 many many times, canine searching for bombs, missing elderly, lost children, 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:50.200 finding dope, firearms, and of course an escaped prisoner or two. 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:54.919 I've even seen the difference these incredible creatures have made 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:59.120 in the lives of folks suffering and in need of therapy. 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:03.560 Dogs dogs can even help identify medical issues, like alerting 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:08.280 somebody to a seizure before it happens. I've seen in 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:12.040 person canins that responded to the Olympic Park bombing in 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:16.280 Atlanta and to the nine to eleven terror attacks. We 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:20.920 owe so much to these incredible animals. One of the 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:23.160 things that I've been lucky enough to do more than 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:27.320 one time is watch Trace Sergeant work. Now, y'all, when 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:31.760 I tell you work, I mean she works. We have 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:35.840 searched for evidence behind a home. She went down to 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:38.560 South Georgia for me on a missing person. We have 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:42.000 worked a murder case, searching for evidence in the woods. 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:46.360 We've even worked to Dixie Mafia case together. Trace has 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:50.440 never told me no when I've called and asked for 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:54.600 her help, not once. Now I want y'all understand she's 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:58.840 got dogs that are expertly trained. They need water, they 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:02.400 need food, they need vest. Her car needs gasoline, she 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:05.480 needs food and water. She's never asked me for anything 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:08.680 to tell you a little bit about her career. She 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:12.880 is a PhD candidate. She has animals that she trains 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:17.560 and has owned ready for movies. So if sometimes you 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:20.640 see a turtle or a bird or a goat in 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:24.880 a movie, could absolutely be one of hers. So on 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:27.560 top of these canines that assist law enforcement and do 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:30.120 search and rescue, she's got her hand and a lot 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:33.519 of other stuff. She even has her own podcast. This 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.920 is a very accomplished, very busy woman, and we were 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:40.240 lucky enough to get her on the Melissa Wolfenberg case. 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:43.600 I'm gonna quit talking so we can get Trace in here, 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:48.280 because not only is she fascinating, the way she talks 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:54.360 about her dogs is just it's awesome. So Tray Sergeant, 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:58.200 welcome to Zone seven. Well, thank you, Cheryl. It is 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:00.800 a pleasure and a privilege to be here, and I 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:04.760 appreciate the invitation. I've been doing this for many years 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:07.520 and people are still fascinated by what these dogs can 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:11.320 do and all the different areas that you've mentioned. How 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:15.000 did you get into this trace? That's a really good question, Cheryl, 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:17.920 And when I'm asked that, it's not a real simple answer, 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:20.960 but I will give you the water down reader digest 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:25.400 version of it. So many years ago, I was busy 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:27.680 with school and work, and I was having to work 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:30.800 to put myself through college and just kind of the 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:33.440 craziness of all that. I didn't have any animals at 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:37.840 the time, but I grew up with dogs and nothing 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:40.360 you know, special as far as working dogs, but just 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:44.240 your regular loved pet. So when I finished college, I 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:46.320 knew I wanted to get a dog, but I also 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:49.600 knew that I wanted to do something special or different 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:52.800 with that dog. I had no idea what that would be, 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:57.000 but I knew I wanted something more than just a companion. So, 0:04:57.160 --> 0:04:59.720 as luck would have it, I was living in Alabama 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:02.360 at the time, that's where I'm originally from, and I 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:05.800 currently live in Georgia now, and met a lot of 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:08.520 folks in Alabama that did a lot of different things 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:11.920 with dogs, which is agility and obedience and things like that. 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:17.359 I did locate a local breeder that bred some German shepherds, 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:20.320 and in my research I discovered that German Shepherds were 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:23.360 really a perfect match for me, and they really are 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:26.200 a great fit for me and my breed of choice, 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:28.040 so to speak, and the kind of work I do. 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:32.280 Although I've worked other dogs and other breeds do incredibly 0:05:32.320 --> 0:05:35.279 well with this kind of work as well, but for 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:38.200 me particularly, I started with German Shepherds, so I kind 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:40.120 of have a special place in my heart for them. 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:44.040 So I see this little of puppies and one comes 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:46.680 running to me, and I really want to emphasize that 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:49.679 I truly did not know what end of the dog 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:53.120 barked when I started on this journey, and I'm not 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:56.600 exaggerating about that. I knew nothing about training a dog. 0:05:56.720 --> 0:06:01.200 Knew nothing about drives and instincts and what entails a 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:04.920 working dog and all of those things that are so 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:08.560 important for these dogs and all the different jobs that 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:12.200 we asked them to do. With that being said, the 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:14.560 first puppy that comes running to me, it was love 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:18.480 at first sight. And as I said, I didn't know 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:21.320 exactly what I wanted to do with the dog, but 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:25.680 as faith would have it, it stepped in and it 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:28.839 planted that seed for me. And that is a article 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:31.440 that was from Reader's digest and I still have it 0:06:31.480 --> 0:06:34.680 to this day about a woman with a German shepherd 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:38.640 that found a missing three year old child and something 0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:43.159 just a lightbulb came on and I thought, Wow, you 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:48.679 know what. I don't know what's involved, but something just 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:53.000 really hit home with me, and I thought to myself, 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:55.960 I don't know, you know how to do this. I 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:58.680 don't know where to start, but dad, gumm it, if 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:00.920 she can do it, I can do it too. And 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:04.560 that's kind of started my journey in kind of an 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:08.240 accidental road to discovering what I was supposed to do 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:11.400 with my life and what I was really born to do, 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:15.720 and what I was so lucky to find my passion 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:19.440 in life. And I've recognized over the years not many 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:23.040 people are lucky to find that, especially at such a 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:27.360 young age, but I was no question. My favorite part 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:31.080 of that whole story is that little dog found you. Yeah. 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:34.360 It was an incredible, what I didn't know at the time, 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:41.080 a life changing moment for me. So I realized this cute, adorable, 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:44.600 little fuzzy Puffy was going to be big and probably 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:48.320 much stronger than me and very short time. So that's 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:50.840 when I realized I needed to reach out to people 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:55.160 that understood what Grumman shepherds were about and how to 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:59.000 train them, and I met some amazing people along the way, 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:02.280 but it just again wasn't exactly what I was looking for. 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:06.160 But when I read that article, that's when I realized, Wow, 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:10.440 that's what I'm supposed to do with that said again, 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:14.040 still living in Alabama, I started making some phone calls. 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:18.840 Some people kept telling me about this particular deputy sheriff 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:22.360 that was, unbeknownst to me, was kind of a legend 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:25.840 in his own way there with the local sheriff's office, 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:28.560 and they said, listen, if you want to know about 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:32.360 working dogs and what's involved in searching for people and 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:35.320 how to train them and all the ins and outs, 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:39.199 he's the go to guy. I would like to emphasize 0:08:39.960 --> 0:08:44.360 that the best part about my life at that point 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:48.000 in time and years after that and getting involved in 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:51.640 the things that I have gotten involved with over the years, 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:56.520 is that I was young, dumb, stupid, and naive. I 0:08:56.640 --> 0:09:00.320 had no idea what I was getting myself into. That's 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:03.880 the best combination, isn't it. It really is now if 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:07.120 I know now what I you know what I know now? 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:10.679 Back then i'd probably say, are you out of your mind? 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:13.920 Why would you even think about doing something like that? 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:18.560 But I didn't. So it helped when you're young, dumb, stupid, naive, 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:21.920 and quite frankly fearless, because I just I just really 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:24.840 had no concept of what it was all about. And 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:29.200 it was this amazing, grand adventure. So with that said, 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:32.040 I being young and stupid, I thought, oh well, I'll 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:35.600 just call him up to see, you know, if he would, 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:39.040 you know, at least give me some advice or suggestions 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:41.679 on what to do. And it was some time before 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:45.280 we even got together. We met and he evaluated my 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:48.560 dog at the time was his name was Zach. He said, well, 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:51.760 he seems like a pretty nice dog and and he said, 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.240 you seem pretty pretty committed to this. And I tell 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:59.600 you what, I will make you a deal. I'm always 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:01.959 looking for for people to lay tracks for my two dogs, 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:05.760 which was a German shepherd and a bloodhound. And if 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:08.839 you do that, I will help you train your dog 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:11.320 and show you know the ins and outs. And I thought, 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:15.200 well that's wonderful. What does lay in tracks mean? Well, 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:20.000 that's a good question. So laying tracks the difference is 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:23.040 and I will be happy to explain this in more detail, 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:26.520 but just the laying tracks, and I'll go into the 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:29.600 different things that dogs do for us in reference to 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:32.720 finding people in evidence, but lay in tracks. If you 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:35.520 think of the concept of a rabbit or a deer, 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:39.120 is that we use the dog's natural drive to hunt 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:42.720 down prey. Instead of let's say a wolf or a 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:45.560 codey running down a rabbit and deer to hunt it 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:48.800 and kill it to eat it. Dogs have those same 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:52.920 instincts and drives. We just channel those drives. So when 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:57.120 somebody lays a track, so I would ask you, for example, Cheryl, 0:10:57.160 --> 0:10:59.040 I would I need you to lay a track for me, 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:01.880 So you would go, you know, a hundred yards, turn right, 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:04.800 go a couple hundred yards, turn left, and go about 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:08.160 one hundred more yards and hide somewhere. So that way 0:11:08.200 --> 0:11:11.760 the dog is able to quote follow your track. And 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:14.600 that's part of their training and their maintenance and their 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:18.520 conditioning and things like that. But we really, I would 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.240 like to emphasize in all of this, I really can't 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:23.480 take much credit for these dogs. And I've learned that 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:27.440 over the years, we just channel those natural drives these 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:32.600 dogs already have. They really have superpowers. And after all, 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:36.400 the years I've been doing this, it's still like magic 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:41.640 watching them work. It truly is incredible, how effortless and 0:11:41.679 --> 0:11:46.240 how happy that these dogs do the work that we 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:48.800 ask them to do. And I do get that question 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:50.679 a lot, how do you make your dogs do this? 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:55.040 I don't. I'm just the chauffeur, the cleanup crew, I'm 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:58.360 the hairdresser, I'm the chef, I'm all of that. But 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:02.320 I don't make these dogs do. They absolutely love it, 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:04.679 and I can attest to that, I've seen it. They 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:06.679 cannot wait for you to come get them out of 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:15.080 the car. Yes, absolutely, And that journey and all of 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:18.679 this meeting Joe was his name. He's passed away. He 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:24.240 passed away years ago, him and some other folks, of course, 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:27.920 being in law enforcement. My father, he too has passed away, 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:31.440 was a firefighter EMT, so I at least had a 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:35.319 little bit of exposure in the public safety world, but 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:40.920 nothing like the things that Joe and the other folks 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.880 taught me, the ins and outs of law enforcement, that 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:46.520 I realized, this is what I'm supposed to do with 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:50.920 my life. And that led to Okay, I'm searching for 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:53.880 this person and I actually find them and they're hurt. 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:56.240 What do I do? I don't know how to take 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:58.240 care of them. So that's when I became an EMT. 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:02.000 And then hanging out with the other folks as far 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:07.000 as firefighters and emas which is Emergency management agency personnel, 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:11.280 of course the law enforcement folks all of that, I realize, 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:15.760 my gosh, you'll actually get paid to have this much fun. 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:20.000 I cannot believe this. So that's when I became a firefighter. 0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:23.080 And then I realized I need some Ham radio operaio 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:26.400 experience on how to operate a radio, so I became 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.760 a Ham radio operator from there, and of course the 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:32.559 law enforcement part of it, and through all of that, 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:35.560 and I think it's important to share with your listeners 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:39.080 as well as you sharel all the things that I've 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:41.920 done in my life. You mentioned about the movies and 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:46.640 production world that literally exploded here in Georgia. I have 0:13:46.840 --> 0:13:49.199 my own farm and I have working dogs for that. 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:54.680 I'm actually was a regional representative for a nationwide company 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:59.800 that actually places service dogs for like physically challenged individuals. 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:03.719 I did that a number of years, extremely rewarding. Can 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:06.600 I say all that to say all the things that 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:09.120 I've done in my life. The dogs have always been 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:13.920 the keystone always that never changed and to this day 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:19.200 that has not changed. From reading that reader's Digest article, 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:23.440 to meeting Joe, which became my mentor, to meeting the 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:27.080 other law enforcement folks and the other public safety professionals, 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:29.840 That's when I realized that's what I'm supposed to do 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:35.360 with my life. From their doors opened and a ventures 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:39.880 happened that I wasn't even aware of, meaning that I'm 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:44.560 on a federal task force team. I've been on international missions. 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:49.280 I've been around the country doing missing person cases, some 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:52.320 of them very high profile, and of course a lot 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:57.120 of cases here in Georgia and Alabama. I've worked bomb dogs. 0:14:57.200 --> 0:15:00.000 I did that over in Iraq for a number of years. 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:04.520 I've worked with again, especially trained dogs that help people 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:11.640 with physical challenges and disabilities. Of course my farm dogs 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:15.880 all of that. But people know me most as a 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:19.000 subject matter expert in missing person cases, both dead and 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:22.400 a life. I mean, I've worked with numerous agencies and 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:24.840 your name will come up when we're putting together any 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:28.440 type of team. It's something you should be really proud 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:32.080 of because you have built something that is extraordinary. Well, 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:35.720 I appreciate that, Cheryl. All the things that I've done, 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:41.160 it's been as a volunteer basis, and it never occurred 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.640 to me to ever make money doing this, and I 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:48.080 want listeners to know that this is a very expensive endeavor. 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:50.280 I don't do it for the money. I never have 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.480 and I never will. When I did these things, it 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.440 was with my own personal dogs. I never had an 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:59.800 agency dog. Always use my own personal dogs because that 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:02.600 gave me a lot of flexibility to be able to 0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:06.360 help whoever needs it. That has really I didn't realize 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:08.440 that when I first started this, but that really helped 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:12.880 out a lot. Sometimes. You know, some people weren't happy 0:16:12.920 --> 0:16:16.480 with that, and I understand that, but for me, it 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:20.280 was never about politics. And I would say the best 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.920 statement I can explain on that is that I always 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:28.280 put people before politics and principles before policies. And I 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:30.720 can attest to it. I've seen it, I've witnessed it. 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:32.840 You know, one thing that you mentioned that I want 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:36.000 to really stress to the young people listening and the 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:39.160 older people too, it don't matter when it's your dog. 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:42.760 Somebody can't tell you what you can or can't do 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:45.680 with it. And I think that was brilliant even though 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:49.119 you might not have started it because of that, it's 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:53.040 a fabulous result of it. I would agree. Even when 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:57.040 I was working with the local Sheriff's office, I was 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:03.360 running down oh my gosh, cop killers, rapist, murderers, thugs, 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:07.240 you name it, and the good lord and my poor 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:12.400 guardian Angel. I know it's warm completely out, but it's 0:17:12.400 --> 0:17:14.480 done a really good job over the ears, because there's 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:17.000 been a lot of times. I gotta be honest, Cheryl, 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:21.440 I don't understand why I survived. I don't understand why 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:25.240 I live through that, but I'm so thankful that I did. 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:29.960 I think, Cheryl, you you may get this feedback from folks, 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:32.720 you know, hey, it's amazing what you do and how 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:35.920 exciting and how cool and sexy and all of that. 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:39.199 And I get that too, especially with the dogs. But 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:42.920 I'm like, you see ten seconds of my life. It's 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:47.760 a very very short snapshot. It's not glamorous. It's not 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:53.520 for the lighthearted, and it's not a lot of things 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:58.000 people ask, you know, how do you not get you know, 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:02.199 depressed or fresh traded or mad or angry or whatever, 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:07.120 or gets just all caught up and again, the high 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:13.160 emotionally charged kind of things that these especially homicide cases 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:16.159 can really really cause a lot of a lot of 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:18.600 a lot of good things, but a lot of, you know, 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:23.199 really weird things too. And I just tell folks, I 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:26.200 just stay focused on why I'm doing this and what's 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:30.240 really important, and that is these families that have found 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:36.560 themselves and a horrible, horrible, unimaginable nightmare and a living hell. 0:18:37.359 --> 0:18:40.520 And I've worked with so many families over the years 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:43.360 that I have come to recognize it doesn't matter who 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:46.600 they are, where they come from, why their loved one 0:18:46.680 --> 0:18:51.080 is missing. What matters is that the not knowing is 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:59.760 the absolute worst life that these people can live. Karen 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:03.040 and I that you talked. You know you heard Karen 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:06.399 last week, but we talked over and over and over 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:12.280 who should we bring on this first grouping. And I 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:15.600 wanted an eclectic group, but I wanted a group that 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:19.919 I knew would jail immediately, get on the same page immediately. 0:19:20.640 --> 0:19:26.679 And again we had assistant distric attorney Adrian Love, investigator Stein, 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:34.320 Melissa's mama, Norma, her sister Tina, doctor Dwayne Thompson, myself, 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:40.119 and Karen, and of course Trace. And when Trace pulls 0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:44.200 up in her big old red truck. And you can 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:47.040 already hear the dogs barking. They know they're going to work. 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:51.480 They're excited. And she's got her vest own and she's 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:55.479 got their water, and she's got everything, and she takes 0:19:55.520 --> 0:20:00.200 time to speak to everybody to make sure she understand 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:04.760 the layout. You know, where do you think this happened? 0:20:04.760 --> 0:20:07.919 Where was this found? Where was that found? So that 0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:12.160 when her dogs are alerting or pulling her somewhere, she's 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:15.320 going to understand why that possibly makes sense when I 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:21.280 tell you I'm watching a partnership, almost like a couple 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:25.920 ice skating. Her and her dogs are so in sync. 0:20:26.560 --> 0:20:30.080 She understands exactly what they're doing. And where it looked 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:31.879 to me, I was gonna tell y'all, it looked to 0:20:31.960 --> 0:20:36.520 me like that first dog was pulling her, dragging her 0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:42.680 in the woods. Trace never missed a beat or a step. Now, 0:20:42.720 --> 0:20:48.760 in Georgia in the summer, the woods get thick and 0:20:48.880 --> 0:20:52.959 we have kudzu that takes over everything, and there's briars 0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:57.239 and it's hard to make your way through any of 0:20:57.240 --> 0:21:01.680 it if you have a hatchet. Well, that dog just disappeared, 0:21:02.359 --> 0:21:07.200 and Trace disappeared right behind him. It was like nothing 0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:09.439 I've ever seen in my life. It was like the 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:13.840 woods just swallowed them whole, and I could hear the dog, 0:21:13.960 --> 0:21:16.719 I could hear Trace, and then I didn't hear anything 0:21:16.720 --> 0:21:19.640 for a long time, and then they both emerged out 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:22.159 of the woods and she got ready to run the 0:21:22.160 --> 0:21:26.200 second dog. Now, Trace, tell them why at a scene 0:21:26.240 --> 0:21:30.200 like Melissa's on Avon Avenue, which is, for all purposes, 0:21:30.240 --> 0:21:33.280 a small crime scene for you to search, why is 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:37.120 it important to have two dogs or more? It's important 0:21:37.240 --> 0:21:41.159 to let the viewer or listeners know what inspired me 0:21:41.240 --> 0:21:44.639 to do that. It actually happened years ago. Not to 0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:48.040 get too personal, but it was part of this journey 0:21:48.080 --> 0:21:51.640 that I have been on with my dogs, and I've 0:21:51.680 --> 0:21:55.080 had a number of dogs over the years. So if 0:21:55.119 --> 0:21:58.360 we go back to the Natalie Holloway case, which happened 0:21:58.359 --> 0:22:00.960 many years ago, I would still live in Alabama at 0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:05.479 the time, and long story short, I was on a 0:22:05.520 --> 0:22:10.440 case in Georgia and it was for a nine year 0:22:10.480 --> 0:22:13.280 old girl that had been missing form I think over 0:22:13.359 --> 0:22:18.760 twenty years. But that day changed my life. And that 0:22:19.720 --> 0:22:24.560 was the case where Logan looking for her remains, had 0:22:24.680 --> 0:22:29.560 actually slipped down a very steep embankment and he went 0:22:29.600 --> 0:22:31.320 to the edge of the road and as a car 0:22:31.440 --> 0:22:33.560 came around, it hit him in the head and killed 0:22:33.640 --> 0:22:37.600 him instantly. It really really hit me hard because these 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:41.080 dogs are more than just team members to me, their family. 0:22:41.600 --> 0:22:44.959 I just felt that day that I felled him. He 0:22:45.080 --> 0:22:49.080 never felled me. He always protected me, He always protected 0:22:49.119 --> 0:22:53.840 my life because I trusted him one and that it 0:22:53.880 --> 0:22:55.919 took me a while to get over that one. But 0:22:56.080 --> 0:23:00.119 I also learned from my experience with Logan, I will 0:23:00.119 --> 0:23:06.400 never ever be without at least two, sometimes three working 0:23:06.440 --> 0:23:09.960 dogs at any one time. So, you know, it's kind 0:23:09.960 --> 0:23:12.560 of worked out for the best now it has worked out. 0:23:12.680 --> 0:23:16.360 And from an investigative standpoint, as a crime scene investigator, 0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:20.080 when you work two dogs and both dolls go to 0:23:20.119 --> 0:23:23.120 the same area and alert and both dolls have given 0:23:23.160 --> 0:23:27.120 you the same information, then that's just a money tree, 0:23:27.480 --> 0:23:29.520 it is, and it's you know, it's the old saying 0:23:29.600 --> 0:23:32.199 that two heads are better than one. Well, two noses 0:23:32.240 --> 0:23:34.640 are better than one. Not to say that one dog 0:23:35.119 --> 0:23:38.080 is better than the other, but it does help not 0:23:38.160 --> 0:23:41.800 only from an investigative point of view, but also from 0:23:41.840 --> 0:23:46.040 a prosecution point of view to say that this wasn't 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:49.400 just an anomaly. This wasn't just one dog just having 0:23:49.440 --> 0:23:52.720 an interesting day. But we have not only one, but 0:23:52.880 --> 0:23:57.320 two and now three confirmed hits in the same area. 0:23:57.440 --> 0:24:00.360 So now we've got to figure out why did these 0:24:00.400 --> 0:24:03.960 dogs do this? Is it connected to what we're looking for, 0:24:04.320 --> 0:24:07.320 does it have anything to do with the case that 0:24:07.440 --> 0:24:11.359 were involved with, or is it something totally unrelated. And 0:24:11.480 --> 0:24:14.520 you know, I was talking to Karen Greer and Dwayne 0:24:14.520 --> 0:24:17.960 Thompson the other day and I told them a couple 0:24:18.000 --> 0:24:20.800 of weeks ago, I was back on scene on Avon Avenue. 0:24:21.480 --> 0:24:24.119 And now it's almost the perfect time because it's warm, 0:24:25.080 --> 0:24:28.040 but all the leaves are gone, all the brushes back. 0:24:28.600 --> 0:24:33.240 You can see just easy walking, you know, large like 0:24:33.359 --> 0:24:38.920 rusted type machinery and cans and bottles and mattresses. It 0:24:39.040 --> 0:24:42.320 might be a better time to search than when we 0:24:42.359 --> 0:24:47.000 originally went there. Well, Cheryl, you bring up an excellent 0:24:47.040 --> 0:24:50.040 point and one of the things I've learned over the years. Again, 0:24:50.119 --> 0:24:53.960 when I started this, I really had blinders on that. Okay, 0:24:54.760 --> 0:24:57.560 I have a dog. I got to go find something. 0:24:58.560 --> 0:25:02.359 I had to go find something. We're looking for a human, 0:25:02.680 --> 0:25:05.879 you know, that's run away. We're looking for you, a 0:25:05.920 --> 0:25:09.920 homicide victim, we're looking for evidence. But what I've actually 0:25:10.119 --> 0:25:13.320 learned and I would say that has changed in my 0:25:14.160 --> 0:25:19.399