artially snow-covered hole, investigators in Clinton had the evidence necessary to solve a series of burglaries that had plagued the community. After a plane crashed into the Mississippi River during a storm, recovery efforts failed to locate the missing pilot until Trax identified his location under the wreckage. When a Virginia farmer didn't return from rounding up stray cattle, Trax showed searchers where he was. When two nine-year-old girls were lost in a 2,000 acre park, Trax located their direction of travel up a steep mountain trail. After an elderly woman wandered away from her residence at night in freezing temperatures, Trax found her trapped by a tangle of briars in a ditch along the roadside. When criminal after criminal attempted to elude the police after breaking into a residence, stealing a car, illegally making meth, or stealing anhydrous from a rural community cooperative, Trax tracked them to their hiding places and sent them all to jail. Even two young boys who skipped school for a day could not evade him. When accidents on the river took the lives of boaters and swimmers, Trax pinpointed the areas for the recovery teams to focus their efforts. After fires destroyed buildings and snuffed out innocent lives, Trax located the victims for their families. When requests came to assist with large-scale, multi-agency search efforts after a hurricane, or for a missing person in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho, the rural communities of Minnesota, or the wilderness in Ontario, Canada, Trax answered the call. Trax was specially chosen from select West German Schutzhund bloodlines bred by the internationally recognized breeder, Jane Steffenhagen at Steffen-Haus German Shepherds. As a charter member of Emergency K-9 Operations, Inc. Search and Rescue in Clinton, Iowa, Trax began his training when he was 10 weeks old. Under the instruction of Master Trainer Mike LeBlanc who was a former Air Force and Police Dog handler, Trax & his handler, Lois, attained Operational Certification in Trailing, Air Scent, Evidence Recovery, Human Remains Detection, and Disaster First Response. As a member of the Clinton County Sheriff's Office, Trax was the first K-9 in Iowa to serve on a Sheriff's Reserve. In addition to team certifications, he was nationally certified through the North American Police Work Dog Association. He worked with accomplished NAPWDA Master Trainers from around the country, as well as other nationally recognized trainers including Andy Rebmann (K9 Specialty Search Associates), Kevin Kocher (National Bloodhound Training Institute), Bill Dotson (IDK9, FEMA), and Gary Murray (RCMP retired). Trax also attended numerous training seminars every year including those given at The Body Farm (TN), Department of Homeland Security (Camp Atterbury, IN), Camp Dodge (Johnston, IA) and the FEMA training site (Virginia Beach, VA). While in North Carolina, Trax was a member of REDS, Stokes County Mountain Rescue, North Carolina Project Lifesaver, and FEMA VA Task Force 2. Trax was honored to represent search and rescue dogs in service to mankind by receiving the 2002 SAFE Association K-9 Special Service Recognition Award at their International Symposium. In 2005, Trax also received the American Kennel Club's ACE Award Honorable Mention for Search and Rescue. Thousands of students knew Trax because of his participation in hundreds of educational programs on wilderness safety and abduction prevention as well as his work with Safety Town, DARE, 4-H, and the Boy Scout and Girl Scout Programs. The community also knew Trax by his involvement in programs at Purina, Guardian, DuPont, Bemis, ADM, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Community Watch, Citizen Police Academy, National Night Out, Iowa Association of Investigators, NASAR, and International SAFE Symposium. As a nationally certified Therapy Dog, Trax worked with Alzheimer's sufferers to improve memory and reduce anxiety; with Physical, Occupational & Recreational Therapists during rehabilitation of head trauma patients; with troubled adolescents learning anger management and self-control techniques; and to comfort the terminally ill. He also worked with Special Olympics and "Up With Families". Throughout the years, Trax regularly visited at Forsyth Hospital Whitaker Rehabilitation Center, Genesis Medical Center, Sarah Harding Senior Residence, and the Alverno Health Care Facility. Trax helped to establish Animal-Assisted Therapy Programs at Forsyth Medical Center Adolescent Unit and The Ronald McDonald Houses in both Winston-Salem and Iowa City. He was honored with the Ronald McDonald House "Volunteer of the Year Award" and as a Therapy Dog International Outstanding Active Volunteer. Using his unique form of therapy, one of his most important searches involved "finding" an 11-year-old cancer patient during a mock search. Derek was depressed both physically and mentally when he met Trax that afternoon. In an attempt to lift his spirits, he was told that Trax could find him wherever he hid inside the house. But, he was told, once found, he would have to play with Trax to reward him. Derek agreed and went to hide in a closet in his upstairs room. Trax slipped into his harness on the front porch, took Derek's scent and went to work. He tracked into the house, along the front hallway, up the stairs and into Derek's room. When Trax barked at the closet door, Derek emerged with a huge smile and played a great game of tug with Trax. Laughter had replaced the sadness that was on Derek's face only a short time before. This simple act sparked hope for a courageous boy who became one of Trax's best friends. In December 2004, while traveling to Kentucky, Trax survived emergency surgery for bloat and torsion and spent days in Intensive Care before regaining the strength to return home and, in time, to his search work. In 2008, after a strenuous missing person search, Trax suffered a near-fatal attack on his liver but he again fought back, undergoing months of physical therapy to once again continue the work that he loved. In May, 2009, after Trax began having balance problems during agility exercises, he was diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma. Throughout his chemotherapy treatments at Purdue University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Trax continued to train and search. His strong will and enduring spirit kept him enjoying life and fighting the disease until the very end. Trax served with honor and distinction. He helped bring solace to grieving families and criminals to justice. Trax was an extremely devoted companion, a caring therapy dog and an accomplished search dog who would truly go the distance ".... that others may live". He was my defender, my partner, and my friend. Faithful and true to the last beat of his heart. In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorial contributions may be given to the Emergency K-9 Operations, Inc., 4021 Valley Oaks Drive, Clinton, Iowa, 52732. Online condolences may be left at www.PetPassingsofEasternIowa.com. Click This Link To View Video Tribute: http://thetributecenter.com/tributeplayer/default.aspx?webvideoID=464#/webplayerpage