Tryon
Tryon, a lovely yellow lab was the third dog her handler Heather certified for wilderness air scent with King County Search Dogs. Heather and Tryon expanded their training to cadaver/ human remains detection (HRD), water, and avalanche, attending numerous workshops in the Pacific NW as well as helping instruct at workshops in Alaska, Oregon, North Carolina, and Japan. Tryon was named for a small town in North Carolina where Heather's grandparents lived. Her naming cemented the tradition of naming the family's dogs for places with significance in their lives.
Brought into a household that already had two accomplished search dogs, Tryon was the brash young pup of the family for many years and while beginning her search training early she managed to tear ligaments in both rear knees before she was 2 and subsequently had successful TPLO surgery at the Washington State University Veterinary School, (where the procedure was started.)
Tryon deployed on well over 100 searches, with the most intense being the tragic Oso, WA Landslide in 2014. Tryon lived out her days focusing on HRD and Water searches as being the wise elder in a household that had two younger rambunctious chocolate labs.