Subscribe
Community
Young and old brave the rain for ACLT
Friday, May 8, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by ERICA MITRANO
Katy White with the Calvert K9 Search Team exchanges a high-five with rescue dog Bailey, after the Catahoula leopard dog found two children in the woods during a demonstration at the American Chestnut Land Trust's annual Family Day Celebration, held last Sunday, May 3, at the trust's Double Oak Farm in Prince Frederick.
|
E-Mail This Article
A brother and sister wandered off into the woods during an outdoor celebration.
Fortunately, this was not the beginning of a tragedy but only a demonstration of the tracking skills of the non-human members of the Calvert K9 Search Team. Bailey, a Catahoula leopard dog, sniffed at a hat that both children had touched, then led his handler straight to the tree that concealed the children. He was rewarded with treats and caresses.
At least among the several children, the search and rescue canines were easily the favorite attraction at the American Chestnut Land Trust's annual Family Day Celebration, held last Sunday, May 3, at the ACLT's Double Oak Farm in Prince Frederick.
"I like dogs very much. I haven't had a dog in years and years and years," explained Zachary Zartler, 8, of Chesapeake Beach after watching a demonstration. After the rescue, "Then they gave the dog something good to eat."
Joseph and Susan Mandile of Chesapeake Beach watched their children Elizabeth, 6, and Andrew, 8, be "lost" and found. They braved the gloomy weather because they like ACLT events and wanted to get their children out of the house.
"We didn't want to be in the house, not that much. We didn't want them on the computer or watching TV all day," their father said.
The canine demonstration helped lighten the spirits of Steve Bailey, 12, a volunteer with Boy Scout Troop 347, which was helping out at the event.
"It sucks," Bailey said of the weather, but admitted, "I like the dogs. They're really cute."
The chilly and rainy weather might have kept some people away who had intended to come, said ACLT Membership Coordinator Ginny Murphy, but that didn't mean those who decided to brave the elements wouldn't enjoy themselves.
"We have a good number, actually, considering the weather, and the ones who came have really enjoyed themselves," she said.
Volunteer Mark Giuffrida blew bubbles for the children, who delighted in popping them before the wind could bear them away. He was also pleased with attendance "considering it's kind of funky out," he said.
And dogs weren't the only animals on display.
David Reifsnyder of St. Leonard brought one frame of the beehive he keeps as a hobbyist. A throng of worker bees pushed and struggled under the glass of the display, temporarily captivating Ryan Dickson-Burke, 4, and his brother Jack, 8, of Sunderland before they wandered off to look at shark teeth at a neighboring table.
"I've been beekeeping since 2000. I've been stung a zillion times," Reifsnyder said. He hadn't been stung in getting the bees to the celebration, "but I still have to put them back and they are very unhappy."
Reifsnyder had samples of honey on offer, both the clover honey that consumers are used to, but also a darker, richer-tasting honey made from sumac flowers.
"It's a lot more technical than I thought it was to keep bees," said a visitor, admiring the display.
