Labeled an escape artist, Skye was discovered tied in a kennel at the Western Hills Humane Society in Spearfish, SD by Kellee Matthews of the South Dakota Canine Center. As Kellee approached Skye’s kennel, he exploded with energy and interest in the ball she was holding. Kellee evaluated the Border Collie for search and rescue work and adopted him the same day.
Picked up as a stray, Skye wore a tag from Nebraska, and while shelter staff could not determine how he could have traveled so far, no one ever came to claim him.
Skye is a fabulous dog that loves everyone he meets, is driven and focused when working – gentle and interactive when not. Typical of his breed, Skye is extremely intelligent and challenges SDF’s trainers to keep training as engaging as possible. This Border Collie is always ten steps ahead of his handlers, anticipating next moves and trying to jump to the completion of the training exercise in as few steps as possible. To watch him work a rubble pile is truly amazing! His concentration is intense and his single-mindedness at the task before him is unshakable. He gets the job done and makes it look easy with his strong commitment to finding survivors!
On October 8, 2013, Skye was paired with Andrea (Andi) Sutcliffe of Texas Task Force 2. SDF trainer and handler Lee Culley told us, “Skye has never looked at any of us trainers the way he looks at Andrea. It’s a focused and attentive stance that tells her he’s ready to face whatever obstacles she can throw at him.”
Teams typically aim to achieve Certification in order to be deployable members of their task force within one year. Andrea and Skye achieved their basic Type II SUSAR Certification in Dallas on April 12, 2014 and went on to earn their advanced Type I on June 8, 2014, in Salina, KS. To complete this phase of their careers in such a short time span is an amazing achievement!
On May 19, 2015, Skye and handler Andrea were deployed to their first deployment when a tornado touched down in the town of Runaway Bay, Texas. Two 2-story apartment buildings had suffered significant damage and the team was sent out with teammates Patti Krafft and canine Billy to search for survivors in the rubble.
On October 23, 2015, Andi and Skye, along with two other canine teams, responded to a structural collapse in downtown Dallas. Andi shared: “A seven-story parking garage collapsed as the result of removal and remodel of pool deck. A debris pile was left on 7th floor of parking garage and that along with the combination of rain and weight, caused the collapse. (The) Collapse went from the top floor, all the way through to the bottom floor. Vehicles were hung perpendicular, flipped upside down, and pancaked…Skye cleared the pile with no indications or interest and Tucker and Billy followed with the same result. All 3 dogs were great! They knew what their job was and went straight to the task at hand.”The handlers were able to let structural engineers know that no one was trapped inside and that cleanup efforts could begin.
Then on December 26, 2015, calamity struck Garland, TX and surrounding communities when a deadly series of tornadoes touched down. It was a call to all hands on deck when Andi & Skye deployed with Texas Task Force 2 as a regional resource to search for citizens that may be trapped alive in debris. Andi called to update SDF staff from the scene and explained the devastation was so bad and so widespread that they were speechless upon arrival. Mutual aid from Dallas County called in well over 20 fire agencies and after two days of relentless search efforts, all citizens were accounted for and clean-up efforts could begin.
In addition to their work together, Skye was nominated as a finalist in the 2018 Hero Dog Awards, recognized for his work as a Disaster Search Dog despite his rough beginning in life.
Sadly, on November 11, 2023, Skye crossed the Rainbow Bridge with Andi at his side after a lengthy health battle. He leaves large pawprints to fill and will be missed by all who knew him.