Ryker the Search and Rescue Dog Receives a Special Reward for His Service
Written and submitted by Becca Chestnut at Burlington Dog Works
Ryker is a search and rescue dog who lives with his owner and handler David Tagliani in North Bend, Washington.
On March 22, 2014, a devastating landslide in Oso, Washington tore through the rural landscape, wiping out homes and vehicles, and leaving a debris field of over a square mile. At places, the mud was reported to be over 30 feet deep. As the number of people reported missing grew, teams like David and Ryker moved in to search for survivors and recover victims.
After working day in and day out for over a week, the dogs at the site of the land slide were so sore and tired, many of them couldn’t sleep at night. Their paws were torn up and pictures started popping up on the web of search and rescue dogs with their feet bandaged in vet wrap.
That’s when decided we had to step in. Burlington Dog Works is a grooming salon and spa in Burlington, Washington. We put out the word that we were offering certain free services geared towards the overworked dogs.
Ryker had been working the slide area since March 23rd and was heading home to recuperate on April 2nd when David received word that we at Burlington Dog Works were offering free Dead Sea mineral salt baths to dogs working at the land slide.
The blend of mineral salts is formulated to relieve sore, tired muscles and paws and to draw toxins out of the body. David headed straight from the field to our shop and we got Ryker in the tub. He was so relaxed in his bath that he was falling asleep!
We are so grateful to be able to provide this service to canine teams that are putting their own health and safety on the line to help others. We put this video together to pass along Dave and Ryker’s story so that others could see some of our local heroes getting rewarded after a tough job well done.