Gator was one of a select few canines accepted to the Search Dog Foundation program as a puppy in the early 2000’s. He was donated by Mary Jane Hunt, a breeder from Florida—hence his name—and an acquaintance of SDF’s lead trainer at the time, Pluis Davern. As a breeder, Mary Jane knew what qualities to look for in a search dog candidate. She soon recognized Gator’s strengths and knew the Black Labrador would be a good fit in our program.
Gator started out training at a young age with SDF Prep Home volunteers Bob and Peggy Seay of Ventura. While in his Prep Home, he regularly attended a training class where he became very confident on the obstacles and enjoyed obedience training. Bob and Peggy said that Gator really enjoyed watching dogs on TV and they would routinely tune in to animal shows with him. Whenever a dog came on, he loved to bark at it, a guilty pleasure that his handler, Athena, says he continued to enjoy all his life.
After completing our formal training program in Gilroy, California, it was felt that Gator would be best paired with a handler who would be quiet, soft, and supportive. Pluis found a perfect match in Athena Robbins, a career Lieutenant and firefighter/paramedic on Ohio Task Force 1. Gator returned with Athena to Bellbrook, Ohio, a small city near Dayton. There he shared his new home with a cat, two parrots, two ferrets, and Cooper, a young Golden Retriever.
Gator was Athena’s partner at the Bellbrook Fire Department where she was in charge of Emergency Medical Services for the department. She was on duty for a 24/48 hour shift, splitting duties between the administration building and the fire station. Gator had his own crate in both places as well as an outdoor kennel and agility site for training at the rear of the station. While at the administration building, Gator loved to greet the women from the water department office across the hall before he settled into his crate. At the fire station he knew that at six o’clock in the evening, when the test tone alarm sounded at the firehouse, it was time to eat! He would instinctively go to his crate whenever a fire alarm would sound, without ever having been taught to do so. Gator was a favorite with the crew and loved to get his ball out for the other firefighters to throw. He especially loved truck-washing time when he could play with the hose and bite at and jump in the water stream.
As part of their continual training process, Gator practiced his obedience and agility skills with Athena nearly every day. He loved agility training and was very methodical about it, often climbing ladders without being commanded. Athena had this comment concerning Gator’s enthusiasm for training:
“I had sent Gator to search a new pile that was very difficult. He got off the pile on the backside and headed for the agility site where he started to climb a ladder. I whistled for him to return and he completed the search. However, it just goes to show that he wanted to gain confidence by doing something he knows!”
Gator proved that he was a good teacher on days when Cooper, Athena’s young Golden Retriever, joined in with training. Without prompting, Gator was known to show Cooper how to master a particular exercise if he seemed to be struggling to grasp it.
Athena and Gator achieved Basic Certification from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in February of 2004. Early on, they proved their skills as a disaster search team by participating in several lost person searches in Ohio. They were also deployed to Hurricane Isabel for five days during the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season.
Perhaps it’s just a coincidence since Gator was born in Florida, but he and Athena made deployments to hurricanes regular events.
In the 2004 hurricane season, they worked steadily for five days following Hurricane Ivan, waking up at 5 a.m. daily. Ivan’s damage was severe. Ranging from a cement slab where a house once stood to structures still intact but unsafe, the areas this search dog team were responsible for were many and the obstacles immense. In the town of Milton, Athena and Gator worked 16-hour days and stayed in a local school for the few hours of down time each night. Along with three other search dog teams, this was considered a ‘light task force’ or Type 3 Deployment, which generally means that it is smaller than a full deployment. This didn’t slow down these motivated teams from clearing over 1,000 structures in a few short days.
From fully collapsed homes to those with little damage, Athena and Gator worked tirelessly, meticulously going from house to house, meeting residents and making sure all the occupants were and safe accounted for. The task force did sweeps of large areas with the other dogs, and Gator mostly searched residential homes. Before searching even began, the group did a lot of road clearing in order to reach the areas affected. This had the added bonus of giving residents much needed access.
Traveling with a structural engineer, damage assessment was of primary concern after search and rescue. There were also some tenuous moments with situations that mimicked a bad reality show, such as when they were working in an area near the zoo and discovered that some of the animals weren’t accounted for, including an alligator!
As always, there are the “normal” dangers on the job, such as broken glass, nails, and building materials. At one point, Gator cut a pad on one of his paws, which brought out the best in people even during their time of turmoil. Residents were more concerned about Gator than their own situations, asking if they could help the team—an odd but gratifying turn of events.
All through the deployment Gator was a stellar worker and Athena had nothing but praise for her best friend and partner. When asked how Gator was received in a situation such as a hurricane, Athena spoke again of the interaction between Gator and the residents: “One thing that really has rung true for any disaster is their appreciation for what we do and gratitude for our presence, even after they have lost everything.”
Living in Ohio, there were times when “Team Gator” was deployed to the aftermath of a local tornado. Athena cited one of these times, describing it as “an incredible thing to see the dogs work so well, do what they’re supposed to do…and do a great job.”
Athena also expressed how much Gator changed her life. “He’s taught me a lot about patience, and about being a better person.” She felt grateful to SDF for giving her the opportunity to work with such an exceptional dog. There were training challenges along the way, but Athena saw this as a positive contribution. “If it had been an easy process, I may have taken it more for granted. In the long run, it’s better. It has created more of a focus, caused me to be more driven; it has made me a better handler.”
Gator’s activities outside of search and rescue work kept him and Athena very busy. Butler, a veterinarian pharmaceutical company in Columbus, Ohio contributed $10,000 to SDF and had “adopted” Gator. Gator became a famous face on the cover of their catalog. He also wowed the crowd, making personal appearances at many company events, including being the guest of honor at a company conference in Las Vegas.
Gator’s favorite leisure activity involved water, like most Labradors—playing in the sprinkler spray at the firehouse or jumping in a nearby creek. According to Athena he was quite the ham and loved to show off to other dogs, especially when she wasn’t looking. “He butts them out of the way, and shows them how it’s supposed to be done.”
Since Athena spent so much time at the fire station, she was very pleased that Gator felt so comfortable there. At the time she shared, “He pretty much owns the place; it feels like home for him.” Make no mistake though—Gator knew the difference between work and play. Off duty is off duty, but when work called, “all bets were off.”
Athena credits his Prep Home family. She remarked that they are wonderful people and had a lot to do with his being such an exceptional dog. All things considered, Gator showed Athena what the word “unconditional” really means, and she would not have traded him for the world!
Sadly, on May 29, 2014, Gator crossed the Rainbow Bridge. That day, friend Scott Hall told the world, “The Bellbrook Fire Department and Athena Robbins Haus lost their first Search and Rescue dog ‘Gator’ today…Gator and his human partner Athena put in thousands of grueling hours of training and traveled to numerous national disasters as a FEMA K-9 Disaster Search Team…their passion and drive embodied the spirit of the human-canine bond—one I was very proud to witness and support for many years. RIP Gator…we will all miss your gentle demeanor.”