Page 4 of Kent's Watch
“What’s that grin for?”
“It would be the last fuck you to Wally if we get our pensions and benefits reinstated.”
“There is that,” Kent laughed as they sat there and sipped their beers until it was time for Spencer to leave to pick up Noreen from her job.
CHAPTER 2
Kent heldthe door open for the other people entering the front door of Chambers Search and Rescue before he entered behind them. Today was the first day of training for SAR, short for search and rescue. The first person he noticed was a woman with blonde hair braided down to the center of her back. A beautiful dog was beside her, the woman’s looks piqued his interest. The other woman standing up front was the one he had handed his application to a couple of weeks prior. He wondered if the blonde with the dog was there to help the new people with training the pups.
He looked around and saw there were several chairs set up, and before he could do anything, the woman with the braid stood and faced the room. Kent sucked in his breath at her beauty. It took a few seconds to realize she was talking. Thankfully, someone entered then, and he didn’t know whether he liked her scowl or not when she had to start all over.
“Welcome to Chambers Search and Rescue. I am Rita Chambers and will be your main training guide for this course.”
Kent stood in the back of the room and studied everyone else before him. He stood to his full height of six-foot five, and hadhis hands relaxed to his sides as he listened to Rita,such a pretty name,speak.
“This course will be intense. It usually takes a minimum of six hundred registered hours to train a dog for search and rescue. I want to thank all of you for signing up for this course. I don’t want to scare anyone off, but not everyone is cut out to be a part of a team like this. Some of you will fail.”
“What about the dogs?” Kent asked, and only raised his hand slightly when Rita looked around with a glare at who spoke.
“What did you say?”
“What about the dogs, do they fail?”
“I want to say no, that it’s the handler’s fault, but that’s not always the case. In the past, there have been dogs that have failed the course.”
“What do you do with them?”
“We work with them to make sure they are trained and can be used in other areas.” Rita held up her hand to stop him from asking another question. “Chambers Search and Rescue is my family’s business. We have been in operation for forty years. In my grandfather’s time, he started the business, there were two dogs that failed. Both of them were retrained and put to work as service dogs. During my father’s tenure here at CSAR, there was only one dog that didn’t pass the certification. He also failed to meet the requirements to become a service dog. There was nothing wrong with him, and Dad brought him home and we had him as a house pet until he passed.”
Kent nodded and looked at the other people in the room and saw they understood what was being said.
“Okay, here is how this is going to work.” Rita walked to the front of the room and turned to look at them. “I have sixteen pups in the back. There are twenty of you. Unfortunately, that means four of you won’t have a pup to work with. In about an hour, the members of the local search and rescue teams will behere with their dogs. If you do not receive a dog today, at least you can train with the rest of us by getting a feel for what you’ll be doing as you work with one of the trained dogs.”
“How do we get a dog?” someone in the audience asked.
“It’s totally random. Julie has put all of your names in this bucket,” Rita said as she held out her hand and Julie placed a coffee can in it. Rita shook it and smiled. “In case you don’t know her, this is Julie Summers, she is my right-hand woman. If you have questions and I’m not available, then she’s the person to go to. Do not be afraid to ask questions. This is all new to both you and the dog. Any unasked question may cause harm to the animal, and I will not tolerate that. Don’t assume, ask.”
“How old are they?”
“Three months. The perfect time to start training them. Before we get to choosing the animal for you, let me tell you that this course is intense. Extremely intense. Not only will you be training your dog, but whatever one you pick out is yours for the duration.”
“Duration of what?” someone else asked. “The course?”
“Yes, the course, but you don’t turn the dog in after class. The dog won’t be treated like a piece of equipment to drop off at the end of the day and pick up the next. You take the dog home and continue to train them in not only what they learn here, but also in the rules of your household. I don’t know whether any of you have families or not, or what your current living situation is, but the dog you pick today is yours.” Kent nodded and it seemed like he and Rita had made eye contact the entire time she’d been talking. He smiled when she shook her head as if to clear it.
“Training a dog is expensive. Though we provide you with a dog, part of your application fee goes toward their training. Before you leave today, you will be given the information on your dog. Date of birth, who their parents and grandparents are. All of my dogs are AKC registered, they have had their shots, andcheckups with the vet I use. In the information packet, you will also see a list of five vets in the area. The one at the top of the list is the one I use, and the one that has checked out your dog. I don’t want to call them pets, because they are being trained as service dogs. Once both you and your dog pass certification, then you will be put on the roster to be called whenever the call for search and rescue comes in. You’ll have to make sure Julie has all your contact information. Are there any questions at this time?”
Kent noticed no one said a word and he saw Rita nod.
“Again, don’t be afraid to ask a question. We are all here to learn, and if you don’t ask, then you can’t train your dog properly. If I feel you’re not getting the training, and your dog is suffering for it, you will be asked to leave. In those cases, the dog stays with me.”
“What about the fee we paid?” a male from the crowd called out.
Rita shook her head. “If you read the agreement you signed, it is a non-refundable fee. In other words, you lose it.” She waited to see if anyone said anything else and nodded. “Let’s get to picking out the animals. Again, I have sixteen dogs and twenty of you. When I call your name, go through the green door behind me. I have people back there that will direct you where to go. I will call four of you at a time. I know it’s not a lot of time, but you’ll have fifteen minutes to interact with the pups and pick out the one you want. Remember, from this point on, this animal will be yours in every sense of the word. You will live together, so try to get one that matches your personality.” Rita looked at everyone as she shook the can in her hands. She removed the lid, closed her eyes and pulled out the first small piece of paper.
“Kent Palmer,” she called out, and watched as the man standing in the back of the room grin as he stepped forward. Rita sucked in her breath at his handsomeness. This was theman that had turned his application in late. She only allowed it because he hadn’t been in the area by the cut-off date, and he had glowing references. She nodded as he approached.
“Go through the door and Scott will help you.”
