Rescue Dog Visits Local School

Nicole Kesler introduces Phinney, her canine partner in search and rescue efforts, to a group of pupils at Piney Creek School on Sept. 11. According to her best information, Kesler said, Phinney is the only dog in North Carolina certified by FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) for disaster work.

Kesler has been working with search-and-rescue dogs for about six years; she is also a Spanish teacher and assistant soccer coach for Alleghany County Schools. In the photo at left, Kindergartner Austin Williams emerges after being found by Phinney in the bleachers at the Piney Creek gym, as Kesler included a couple of games of hide-and-seek to demonstrate the German shepherd's skills.

Kesler presented programs to groups of pupils at all three local K-8 schools last week, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In response to a pupil's question, Kesler said she and Phinney did not respond to 9-11. She was training in Washington state at the time, and air travel was shut down shortly after the attacks. She did visit "Ground Zero" later, she said.

Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back