Callie was born in November of 2004. She was one of many pups born to Meri Forman’s Juniper Ridge Labradors. Meri, Guide Dogs of America’s (GDA) Breeding Manager since 1994, had been raising Labs personally and professionally for over 20 years.
Meri was aware of SDF for some time because some GDA dogs who were too active to be Guide Dogs had been donated to SDF to become successful Search Dogs. When Callie was born, Meri noticed in her a “slice of life” much different than the other pups in her litter. She was active, bold and very curious. Meri contacted SDF to see if we would be interested in taking on one of her pups to train as a Search Dog.
At 7 weeks of age, Callie went to her Search Dog Prep Home with the Donaldson/Weaver family in Goleta, CA. Sonja, Erich and daughter Kendall were experienced dog-owners and Callie began training immediately. Callie was from a line of high-drive conformation dogs and was the most active, driven dog in the litter. Conformation in dogs refers solely to the externally visible details of a dog’s structure and appearance as defined by their breed standards. Said Sonja, “From the minute she arrived, she turned our lives upsidedown. She is a determined, faithful, and intelligent little dog with a mind of her own and a great sense of humor.” Callie accompanied the family everywhere: school, shopping, camping, herding and agility trials, dog shows, dock diving, even jury duty, and became a local celebrity. During her stay with the family, SDF trainers would conduct weekly exercises to ensure that Callie was developing excellent obedience and agility skills, as well as self-confidence, until she was old enough to enter formal training at Sundowners Kennel, SDF’s Search Dog training center at the time. “Callie will always be part of our family and her departure left us with a hole in our hearts, but we are so proud that she will be Part of the Search,” remarked Sonja.
In May of 2006, Callie was enrolled in formal Search Dog Training under the direction of Pluis Davern, SDF’s lead trainer. “Callie has the most tremendous enthusiasm and desire to play,” recalled Pluis. She remembers having to separate Callie from the other dogs because she would just “wear them out.” They had to rotate her among the other dogs so they would have a chance to recuperate. “Another distinct characteristic that Callie had was her Bark Alert. When she was up on a pile, everyone knew when she had found a victim.”
Callie completed her training in March of 2007, and was assigned to a handler with California Task Force 2, also known as the Los Angeles County task force. Unfortunately, the handler had to temporarily step down, so Callie went back to Sundowners for tune-up training until a new handler could be found for her.
In July of 2008, Callie was paired with new handler Scott Zins of the California Task Force 1 (CA-TF1), based in Los Angeles City. Scott was also a member of the Ventura/Santa Barbara Training Group and went to Sundowners for several days so he could learn all the ins and outs of working with a dog like Callie.
Upon graduating, Scott told SDF staff, “After a great Handlers’ course and lots of training, I feel confident about my ability to be a strong handler. Callie will also make a perfect addition to my family, which includes my wife, our baby daughter, and our pet Lab.”
After dedicating many months to consistent training, Scott and Callie achieved Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Certification in Dayton, OH in June of 2009. Teams must undergo FEMA Certification Evaluations every three years in order to maintain their deployment ready status at the nation’s highest level, so in February of 2013, Scott and Callieattained Re-Certification in Castaic, CA.
The team continued to train with CA-TF1 in order to be prepared for deployment should the call come. Scott retired Callie when her second certification expired on February 29, 2016. Though Scott and Callie did not ever deploy on a life-saving mission, they were important members of their task force because every team plays a critical role. They are always there should they be needed and in the big picture, it’s a good thing that their services were not required – it means that people were safe.
Callie spent her retirement home in the Zins home in the Los Angeles area and never lost that sparkle in her eye. Scott was incredibly dedicated to his canine partner and helped her recover from numerous health concerns in her last years of life.
On August 11, 2019, Scott and his family said a final farewell to their beloved Callie. She was three months shy of her fifteenth birthday. We feel lucky that she was in our lives for as long as she was and are grateful for her service. Callie will be remembered forever on SDF’s Canine Memorial Wall, with all the other four-legged heroes who crossed the Rainbow Bridge before her.