The first pet that Karen Nixon and her scent dog Halo found was a lost pooch named Penny Lane.

Penny had been missing for days in Pitt Meadows, and her distraught owner actually camped out at the dikes in Pitt Meadows for two nights, hoping they could find her.

Kylie Nicholls explained they had been out for a walk, unaware it was hunting season, and someone set off a deafening bear banger to scare up some geese. Penny Lane tore away in a panic, and couldn鈥檛 be called back. Nicholls and her partner tried to find the rescue from Mexico, but the dog vanished, and was not coming back. They put up lost dog posters, were active in social media, and had friends and volunteers out searching the area, with no luck.

Through that networking, she heard about Nixon and her scent dog in training, and got in touch. Nixon agreed it would be a great trial for the freshly trained Halo.

Nicholls soon got a tip about a sighting from a cyclist, and Nixon came to the scene. They let Halo sniff Penny Lane鈥檚 dog bed, and let her start sniffing. About a half hour later, they had the lost dog back.

Halo, a white Shepherd that is fast becoming a canine expert in tracking lost pets, picked up Penny鈥檚 scent on the dike. She tracked her to some dense bushes north of the Pitt River Bridge. It was blackberries, that looked like they had been woven together, and Nixon started to wonder what animal Halo might have been tracking.

鈥淪he was alerting to that bush, telling me 鈥楶enny鈥檚 in here,鈥� and I was just like 鈥楬ow?鈥� said Karen. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe she had gotten in there.鈥�

Then Nixon heard a slight whine.

鈥淲e saw here little eyes, and it was her,鈥� she recalled.

Nixon was impressed with her dog.

鈥淪he blew me away 鈥� she did it so easily, so confidently.鈥�

Soon there was a tearful reunion.

鈥淲ithout Karen and Halo, we never would have found her,鈥� said Nicholls, noting that her dog had injuries to her pads, and was dehydrated and hungry, but otherwise fine. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no words that can say how thankful I am to them.鈥�

Nixon said it鈥檚 gratifying work.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the best feeling 鈥� the relief and joy,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the most rewarding thing ever.

鈥淎nd seeing the pet that was frightened鈥� as soon as they鈥檙e on the leash again, you see them visibly relax.鈥�

The Penny Lane rescue was the first of many, and Halo is regularly out searching for dogs and cats that go missing.

Nixon is a paramedic who lives in Maple Ridge, and bought a puppy two years ago from a breeder in Illinois.

Halo is a snow white Swiss Shepherd 鈥� a breed that is popular in eastern Europe, and are sporting dogs used for tracking and obedience trials.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e a well-rounded, nice sporting dog,鈥� said Nixon. 鈥淎nd they have an off switch at home. They鈥檙e really lovely dogs.鈥�

They soon formed a group called the Scent Rescue Team. Other members are Paige Millward, who has an Australian Shepherd named Bailey, and Stephanie Tolea who has a German Shepherd Elly. They have all had scent training.

鈥淲e鈥檙e still very new, our dogs are still young, but so far we鈥檙e doing pretty good,鈥� said Nixon.

There are the three dog handlers, a drone flier, and they have some equipment such as dog and cat traps and nets. Advanced Drone Solutions is a Coquitlam business, and they volunteer their time for searches, asking only for their costs to be covered.

Nixon explained dogs that get severely frightened, such as from fireworks, can sometimes run away in a blind panic, and then go to ground in a hiding spot.

鈥淥nce they get into that fight-or-flight mode, they don鈥檛 even come for their owners,鈥� she said. After a while, she said, even hearing their name called 鈥渂ecomes a trigger,鈥� and they won鈥檛 come out of hiding.

Scent dogs make the task of finding them a lot easier. A young Chihuahua had been missing for about five hours, and Halo found the dog under a neighbour鈥檚 house in about 10 minutes.

Nixon knows personally the trauma a person feels at losing their pet, and even before she had Halo she would help people in the search.

鈥淚 really feel for these people, and understand how terrifying it is,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 charge. We just recently started accepting donations.鈥�

鈥淚 hope more people reach out to me.鈥�

Anyone looking for a lost pet can ask for their help on the page on Facebook. She asks that they post a photo and message, email scentrescueteam@gmail.com, and there are also phone numbers on the site.

Their members are in Vancouver, Langley and Maple Ridge, and they search for pets across the region.

Nixon would also encourage other people to join the hobby. Any breed can do it, and she noted that pugs are surprisingly good at scent tasks.

鈥淒ogs love jobs, and it鈥檚 a really great bonding experience with your dog,鈥� she said.

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