In "Rock Harbor Search and Rescue," a middle grade fiction novel based on Colleen Coble's bestselling Rock Harbor series for adults, kids will enjoy the mixture of pets, adventure, suspense, and a mystery.
Emily O'Reilly is obsessed with all thingsSearch and Rescue. She volunteers with the team and goes on rescue missions with her stepmom. She is even selling homemade jewelry to save up for her own Search andRescue puppy. But when an expensive necklace is stolen from a renowned jewelry artist at Rock Harbor's fall festival andEmily is accused of the crime, it looks like she'll never get her puppy and be able to join the Rock Harbor Search and Rescueteam.
Emily isn't willing to give up on herSearch and Rescue dreams that easily, andshe sets out to find the real culprit and to restore her reputation. With a few suspects in mind, Emily is determined to uncover the truth, but she isn't prepared for the secrets she and the Search and Rescuedogs sniff out in the process. This exciting mystery is filled with twists and turns that will keep readers on the edge of their seatsand have them pining after a Search andRescue puppy of their own!
"Colleen is a master storyteller."-Karen Kingsbury
Rock
Harbor: Search and Rescue
by Colleen Coble and Robin Caroll
Release Date: April 9th 2013
From Thomas Nelson
292 pages
by Colleen Coble and Robin Caroll
Release Date: April 9th 2013
From Thomas Nelson
292 pages
Welcome to my stop for
Rock Harbor Search and Rescue blog tour hosted by YA
Bound. Click HERE to
see the full blog tour schedule!
Carol Award winner Colleen Coble lives with her husband, Dave, in Indiana. She is the author of dozens of novels including the Rock Harbor Series, the Aloha Reef Series, the Mercy Falls Series, the Hope Beach Series, the Lonestar Series and two Women of Faith fiction selections, Alaska Twilight and Midnight Sea. She has more than 2 million books in print.
Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin Caroll is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. She gives back to the writing community by serving as Conference Director for ACFW. Her books have finaled/placed in such contests as Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice, Bookseller's Best, and Book of the Year. To learn more about this author of deep South mysteries of suspense to inspire your heart.
How To Train a Search-and-Rescue Dog
By Emily O’Reilly
I’m glad you’re reading my story! I think you know by now I’m crazy about search dogs. My stepmom is a trained handler, and Bree Matthews owns world-renowned search dog Samson. You’ve probably heard about him. I thought I might give you some tips I’m learning about training my own dog.
1. See what organizations are near you. They run training sessions on weekends, and you can join in. I was lucky to live in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and to have such good teachers. Bree is awesome!
2. Any dog can be trained, but the right dog makes all the difference. The top 5 breeds for training in order are: Bernese Mountain dog, Rottweiler (highly intelligent and good natured if trained properly,) German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Collie. My stepmom has Charley, and he’s a Golden. Samson is mostly German Shepherd with some Chow.
3. Tracking dogs can usually be taught later to air scent, but dogs trained first to air scent can rarely be taught to track. No worries there for me because I think the air scent dogs are spectacular!
4. The first step in training is my favorite! I get a favorite toy and have Bree hold my puppy. Then I run off into the wind while he’s watching and hide. Bree says “Search!” and lets go of him. He rushes off to find me, and when he does, he gets his toy, a treat (only human grade ingredient ones of course) and a big petting.
5. Once he’s learned the first step, we teach him how to give a bark alert. When he finds me, I tell him to, “Speak.” Once he barks, he’s praised and we play. We like to play!
6. Once he’s done this, then we can do blind searches. Bree has a super cool box on her training site. I like to hide in the box and sit quietly while my puppy looks all around for me. He’s getting pretty good at finding me as long as the wind is the right direction. Once he’s mastered that, we’ll move to letting him search when the wind isn’t as good and when I’m farther away.
7. The next step will be letting him search for people he doesn’t know. He’ll sniff a scent article, then go looking. Sherlock isn’t to this step yet, but Samson and Charley are really good at it.
8. Once Sherlock gets through all of this, we can get our wilderness certification. I can’t wait!
Good luck with your own search dog. Or if you just want to read about me and my adventures, that’s okay too.
Your friend, Emily O’Reilly
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