Columbia Recovery Team Adopts Throw-away Pup
February 9, 2003

SAN AUGUSTINE — Dr. Matthew Minson had just arrived in front of the Columbia Recovery Command Post in San Augustine, where he was going to work early Saturday morning, when he saw a vehicle driving by, and something was thrown out of the window.

Minson, who is currently the FEMA U.S. Search and Rescue Medical Team Manager of Texas Task Force 1, said he was thinking, "Don't mess with Texas," when he realized the "trash" had ears, paws and a tail! "I gathered up the puppy, brought it down to the medical tent and did a quick assessment with Medical Specialists Robert Potter and Jan Stadler," he said. "The puppy was malnourished but seemed to be generally fine, but we wanted a veterinarian to check it out."

While waiting for the vet, he said, "We realized that on her jet black body she had a perfect white star on her chest.” By the time the vet arrived, she had been named “Columbia,” and her fate was sealed.

"Given the fact that she was virtually surrounded by canine search specialists, she would've been quickly adopted by any of them," said FEMA spokesperson and Public Affairs Officer Ken Higginbotham. "But there was no question as to who would get the newly found dog. FEMA California Task Force 3 Dog Handler Kris Crawford is a lover of pit bulls," said Higginbotham. "As soon as we saw it was a pit bull, we knew who we wanted to raise the pup," said Minson, whose regular job is medical director of the EMS Division of Harris County.

Ms. Crawford currently has three highly trained pit bulls. With her on duty in San Augustine, TX is Dakota, a 6-year-old pit bull trained to detect human remains.

As for Columbia, Ms. Crawford said that she will be tested for the right temperament several times as she grows and begins training, to see if her temperament is such that she will be a good “working dog.” This is something that is done with all breeds getting into SAR work.

Ms. Crawford explained that most pit bulls (and a lot of other breeds) don't start maturing until they reach an age of 18 to 24 months. Columbia will be tested again for temperament at that time.

"It takes an average of two years to train a SAR dog,” she said, “It will probably take a little longer with Columbia because I still have to train with Dakota and my other dogs to keep their skills up."

When asked what specialized training Columbia might receive, Ms. Crawford said that she would determine later what type of search she might best be able to conduct. Some of the specialty areas in which she could be trained for are air scent, human remains detection, water recovery, disaster, or tracking and trailing," she said.

"The California Task Force 3 in which Ms. Crawford serves was activated to come here to help locate the crew members of the Columbia Shuttle," according to Lynne Engelbert, a dog handler with the task force. The team was activated on Monday February 3rd and arrived Tuesday morning.

They are included in the newly formed Department of Homeland Security, which is to be officially solidified in March, according Higginbotham. Urban search and rescue teams throughout the country will be an integral part of the new department, he said.

"Of the dog Columbia", Higginbotham said, "More dogs do not make it to certification than do." (FEMA is the parent agency for certification.) "These dogs are an invaluable asset to the process of search and rescue. The handlers work extremely hard; and these dogs do, too."

No matter whether she "makes it" or not, Columbia's life is definitely more comfortable and more promising now than it was early Saturday morning. "It just seems like it was strangely fated," Minson said.