Murphy was trained by Murphy came into our lives by chance. I had seen Goldendoodles on the internet and was captivated by tales of their intelligence, good nature and who could resist that face? I had never seen any advertised locally, but had mentioned to another dog-loving friend that if one turned up, I just might have to have it. Two years later this friend called to inform me there was an ad for Goldendoodles in the newspaper. The couple who own his parents are not professional breeders. They simply had two, beautiful, healthy, AKC registered dogs they thought would create great puppies. It was their veterinarian who told them they are called Goldendoodles. We had the pick of the litter as no one else had responded to the ad; people simply didn't know what they were. We brought him home and watched him grow and grow and grow, eventually out-growing both of his parents. When he was about a year old, Vickie King called and asked if she could see him as she was contemplating getting one for herself. When she came over we learned she was a search and rescue volunteer with American Search Dogs and her wonderful dog, Jamie, was getting ready to retire so she was considering different breeds for her next search dog. We had no idea then that Vickie is one of the most highly respected search dog trainers in the western United States. I told her that people are so drawn to Murphy that we'd like to involve him in some kind of therapy work, so she invited us to accompany her to an assisted care facility where the search dogs mix with the residents. We also attended some demonstrations they put on for scouts, schools and adults to teach them what to do if they are ever lost. I'm sure you can see where this is going. Before long we were teaching Murphy to search and that started a whole new chapter in our lives; Murphy thrives on it. We joined American Search Dogs, Inc, which is an all volunteer, professional search unit and Murphy certified in Wilderness and Tracking in 2006. In order to keep the dogs at peak performance, we practice frequently. Murphy also passed the AKC Canine Good Citizen test in 2007. He has been involved in urban, wilderness and water searches in Idaho and Utah. We still make visits to assisted living facilities and he's always in demand at our presentations at schools, etc. He is a beloved addition to our family, a great ambassador for our unit, and I'm proud to have him as my trusted search partner. Murphy at 14 weeks 10 weeks 6 weeks . . . Able to leap tall logs in a single bound! Water search for a drowning victim Tracking Big Foot I think it's a Yeti ! Murphy riding with his "daddy" Entertaining the crowd at one of our search dog demonstrations Murphy resting with some of his "co-workers" A handsome working dood! For More Information : Website : AmericanSearchDogs.org