k9 Duke
Meet K9 Duke. Duke is a 9.5-year-old yellow lab, He is K9 Murphy’s littermate. He started training to be an Urban Search And Rescue (USAR) search K9 from a very young age. Duke's favorite game is Hide and Seek, He loves running on the treadmill and going anywhere his Handler Scott goes, whether driving in a pickup, 4 wheelers, boats, airplanes or helicopters, duke hops in and settles right down for the ride.
Duke has loved his job as a search dog. He has deployed for searches locally and nationally through ID-TF1 as well as WA-TF1 which is a Nationally deployable FEMA USAR team. Being a part of both local and national USAR teams has given Duke and Scott the opportunity to fly all over the united states for Trainings, tests and deployment to disasters. Duke lives in North Idaho, so he is somewhat of a cold weather dog, however he enjoys his beach time whenever he travels to California, Florida or Hawaii.
Duke and Scott have an unbreakable connection which came from training together almost every day since Duke was 7 weeks old. Duke loves to be rewarded with a game of fetch, or a good tug. He also will do anything for a treat (chicken nuggets are best). Aside from being rewarded during training or work, Duke lives for affection from his family. No matter where you are, Duke wants to just have his paw or chin resting on you. He thrives on human connection, especially with his handler Scott.
As Duke is getting closer to 10 years old, he is nearing his retirement as a USAR Search Dog. He still has puppy-like energy and agility when he is working but his off time involves more relaxing and cuddling than it did when he was younger. People often ask how long Duke will work before he has to retire. The answer is that it’s a moving target which is based on the safety of the K9. As soon as we have any concerns about Duke being able to safely navigate the rubble he is trained to search. We will make the decision to retire from USAR work. Our Team Veterinarian Dr. Sherman will be a valuable resource in making the decision. The goal is to work as long as he can because he loves it, while retiring without injury so he can live a long happy life at home in his retirement.
Murphy Gets A Job:
We can’t thank everyone enough for all the support we have received so far for our children’s book. We hope you are all enjoying it. Being a children’s book, it’s obviously geared towards kids; but it should have something in it that everyone can enjoy or learn from. Please let us know what you think about it. Reviews on social media, amazon and this website are welcome. Also it is still available for sale on this website, Amazon and other online retailers. Thank you everyone! Have a great summer!
