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about an hour when Idabel seemed to falter at the pleasure of working behind a good search dog,
shoulder of a busy four-lane highway, showing body admiring the beauty of her movement, her long ears
language that would indicate that she had run out of just grazing the ground, the easy chuffing of her breath
scent. Shane said he did not think Aubrey as she tested yet another
would cross the noisy, dangerous highway. sample of ground for
Aubrey’s scent. Yes, there it
Losing the scent trail on a road is often a sign is. Here. And here. Wait…
that the missing dog has been picked up by no scent here. She must
someone and put into a vehicle. That would have turned, Ah yes, here.
have meant an aggressive advertising blitz to And here. On we went for
find the person who had Aubrey. We would be several blocks.
hanging large neon posters, offering a
substantial reward, blowing up the internet, I looked over my shoulder
interviewing neighbors and other possible for Shane and thought this
witnesses, and scouring online dog sales in might be a good time to
case someone was trying to “rehome” Aubrey start filling him in on the
for a profit. search strategy if we did not
find Aubrey—all the work
But I was not quite ready to give up on this trail. that would need to be done. I wondered if he was up to
Knowing that scent does not stick to hard surfaces such it.
as concrete and asphalt the way it does to natural
surfaces like grass and dirt, we carefully crossed the Uh-oh, I thought, as we approached a rundown
highway to see if there was any scent on the opposite apartment complex. Several homeless cats were milling
shoulder. Before we even stepped off the asphalt, Idabel around a metal pan of cheap cat food in a parking lot.
was already pulling hard into her harness, indicating Idabel was heading straight for them with her head up.
that Aubrey had indeed crossed the highway. If she had Idabel was not even tracking anymore. Had she lost
been running in a blind Aubrey’s trail? Had she decided that it might
panic from the be more fun to find some cats? Before I could
fireworks, she would sort it out, I heard Shane’s voice from behind
have given little thought me. “Aubrey!” he shouted. “Girl! What are
to the danger of crossing you doing up there? Come here, girl!”
the highway. Honestly, I
was a little worried that I looked up ahead and saw nothing but cats
we might find Aubrey’s shooting out of Idabel’s path. But behind me,
body in the grass, but I heard the unmistakable sounds of happiness,
Idabel sailed right past both dog and human, as Aubrey came
that and settled into the running down the stairs of the apartment
steady pace she uses building. She had been on the upper walkway
when she has a good of the second-floor apartments, right above
scent. our heads, which is about the last place you
would expect to see a dog that you have been
Figuring we were in for tracking.
a long walk; I adjusted
the straps on my water As Aubrey threw herself down on the
pack and utility belt and pavement for a belly rub from Shane, I
did my part to keep the cracked open a can of cat food for Idabel—her
tracking line taut and out of Idabel’s way. As the reward for finding her target. I gave Aubrey more treats
morning started to heat up and sweat started to trickle and a drink of water from my pack while Shane phoned
down my back, I allowed myself a moment to enjoy the his wife with the good news. The residents of the
8 | MARCH 2021 THE TEXAS INVESTIGATOR
