De Angelo

I have always enjoyed the true and honest companionship of a good dog partnering with me at my side. The love of working with dogs started when I was probably 5 or 6 years old with "Mikey" my Beagle/Dachshund mix dog.  I would train him to do agility-type maneuvers jumping over bars, walking planks, and climbing ladders and then show off his accomplishments to my parents.  As a teenager, I raised and trained a German Shepherd puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind.  Then upon graduation from college, I eventually started a cattle ranch raising Holstein replacement heifers and trained herding dogs to work cattle on the ranch with me. 

 

After selling the cattle ranch, I began training horses to show in trail classes and to run on endurance races where we frequently placed very high in the AERC national standings.  But throughout this time, I had always been keenly interested in the work of search and rescue dogs.  So when I was in the position to get another puppy, I made sure to find a good hunt-type Labrador that I started training for search and rescue.

 

Throughout my many years in search and rescue and partnering with local law enforcement agencies, I trained and certified scenting dogs to search in tracking, air scent, cadaver, water search, and article search. I thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie of working closely with my canine partner to find our subject.  After I moved to Oregon, I learned about how they were trying to incorporate dogs into truffle hunting.  So I imprinted my dog with the truffle scent. 

 

Gusto, my super-sniffer Black Lab, and I contracted out to landowners to hunt truffles on their property for harvest. I also partnered with a mycology group from Oregon State University to teach truffle hunting classes for people and their dogs. I eventually worked my way into what we now refer to as "scent work" or "nosework" and have now been teaching classes to handlers and dogs for about 3 years. 

 

I enjoy every aspect of watching and training scenting dogs, but I especially find the greatest amount of joy when I see the partnership that develops between a dog and handler.  I love to see the happiness that is shared by a dog and handler after a successful search.