Monday, August 28, 2006
Getting to know...Linda Dillbeck
 Linda Dillbeck was raised in the bustling city of Miami, but since joining Ohio Valley Search and Rescue about a decade ago, she has become an expert on wilderness navigation skills, first aid, rescue, survival, search management tactics, and radio communications. “To take this city girl out in the wilderness was a bit of a challenge,” the administrative assistant in the College of Business said. “Now I feel more comfortable there than on the streets of the city.” Dillbeck has volunteered hundreds of hours with OVSAR. She and her Chocolate Labrador, Jenny, joined other search and rescue team members in searching for lost, missing, and deceased individuals through summer heat and icy winters; on land and in water; at all times of day and night; and in disasters natural and man-made. The two became involved with OVSAR when Jenny was a puppy. “I was looking for something Jenny would love to do; something she was bred to do,” Dillbeck said. Jenny had all the qualities of a good search and rescue dog. She was loyal to her handler, eager to please, affection-seeking, well-socialized, and friendly. “She worked out well for me, and for the community.” Until Jenny died last year, she and Dillbeck trained for hours each week on the USI campus and in other wooded areas. “Now I’m without a dog, but I can help others get their dogs ready,” Dillbeck said. During one of their first trainings at USI, Dillbeck learned to trust Jenny’s instincts. The dog’s mission was to find a “missing” man in the woods. Dillbeck told the man exactly where to stand, so she would know that Jenny was on his trail. “Jenny took off in the wrong direction, and I was frustrated. Then she gave her bark alert telling me she had found the missing person. For some reason, he had moved. She was waiting for me to get to them so she could have her reward: a tennis ball on a rope. Jenny was happy with her reward and I learned a valuable lesson - to always trust my dog. She found the missing person in much less time then it would have taken a human being.” The dog handlers train four to five hours per week, in a wide variety of conditions. “We train at night or during the day, and no matter what the weather, because you don’t know what the weather will be like in a real situation,” Dillbeck said. Handlers attend seminars and conferences, with and without their dogs. They have to know how to read a map, work a compass, test wind direction, determine how weather plays into a scenario, and analyze the behavior of a lost person. Dillbeck is on the committee for Indiana Department of Homeland Security district 10, is a member of Kentucky’s region three search team, and is a level four search and rescue instructor for Kentucky. “It can be heartbreaking, but it’s rewarding, as well, to help others.” For more information, go to www.ovsar.org. |
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