Introducing Blackbriar's Master Pickpocket!

K9 Remy and K9 Scout have a new baby sister, K9 Pocket. Born in February, Pocket is a Parson Russell Terrier from Blackbriar Terriers Kennel in Connecticut. She was picked as the best pup for search work based on her temperament, drive and structure. What a pick! Pocket is precocious, playful, and driven. With the help of volunteers and friends, Pocket and I train every day. It typically takes two (2) years of intensive training before a search dog is ready to deploy. But Pocket is learning really quickly, not only because she is super smart but because Remy and Scout are mentoring her, teaching her important nuances to following scent trails. At 6 months, Pocket was following car trails, 24 hour old trails, and finding victims in a crowd.

In late September, I took Pocket to her first national training seminar, where she and I trained with top instructors from across the country who watched and helped us develop as a team. The night we arrived, instructor Lee Weatherall laid a trail outside the mess hall to evaluate Pocket. All eyes were on us… ugh! Pocket took off like a shot. She came to a creek and crossed it joyfully, scampering up the bank to a large, fallen tree that was lying at a 45 degree angle. Pocket climbed up the trunk, leaving a trail of dislodged moss in her wake. About 6 feet up, she suddenly leaped off. Heart in my throat, I rushed to peer over the trunk and saw Pocket standing on her victim’s back as he bent over trying to hide. Pocket looked at me, and lay down on his back, which is her trained indication to let me know ~I found him! ~ Here's to Pocket’s hysterically funny and auspicious beginning!