Daryl Beck and other members of the search and rescue community are mourning the loss of one of its members, Keeva.
She spent six years as an RCMP validated Wilderness SAR Dog and worked with her handler Daryl Beck and the Campbell River Search and Rescue.
Beck says while she was in service, Keeva was a major part of the CRSAR team and although they had a personal relationship, while on the job it was all business.
“When Keeva and I went to a search we were going as a working team. I tried to minimize any type of interaction like playing or petting while we were on task when things were over sure not a problem. I really looked at it in a professional way that we were there as a working team and I wanted her to focus on the task at hand,” said Beck.
Beck added that he is pleased to see CRSAR continuing to train dogs, but says he likely won’t be the handler for any of the future recruits.
“I think Keeva was probably my last dog, but it does take a great deal of effort and time to train a dog, not just any dog will do. There’s a lot of work that goes into it.”
“Any person that takes on the joy of owning a pet usually has also that sadness of losing that pet. It’s something we have to be aware of when going into pet ownership of course,” he added.
Campbell River Search and Rescue also posted a message to its Facebook page yesterday, remembering and thanking Keeva and Daryl for their service.
“It is with deep condolences to our long time member Daryl and his family, that we share the news of Keeva’s passing. Keeva was a valued member of the Campbell River SAR K9 team. The dog teams provide an invaluable service for search and rescue, greatly increasing the odds of finding subjects and important clues. The time and dedication that goes into training and maintaining K9 certification is immense. Much gratitude for your service Daryl and Keeva.”
Keeva was 12 years old and served with Campbell River Search and Rescue for six years.
