It's A Dog's Life (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 9 - Avalanche Rescue Dogs & The Beagle Brigade - full transcript

BILL FARMER:
Hello, welcome to It's A Dog's Life.

You already know that dogs can be
our best friends,

but did you know
that some dogs also have jobs?

It's true. All types of dogs

do all kinds of incredible things

- to make our lives better.
- (BEES BUZZING)

BILL: There are dogs
that rescue people in need,

- dogs that use their sense of smell...
- (SNIFFS)

BILL: ...in amazing ways,

dogs that entertain us,
and believe it or not,

- there are even dogs...
- (PANTS)



- BILL: ...that work with cats...
- (CAT MEOWING)

BILL: And who am I?

I'm Disney legend Bill Farmer.

As the voice
behind Disney's Goofy and Pluto,

and dozens of other animated characters,

- I'm stepping out...
- (DOG GROWLING)

BILL: ...from behind the microphone
to learn

about my favorite real-life characters,
dogs.

Come with me
as I explore how each dog learns

to develop its special and unique talents,

and how the magical relationship
between dog and human

makes life better for both.

- So, join me and our canine pals...
- (DOGS BARKING)

BILL: ...on It's A Dog's Life.



- (DOG BARKING)
- (PANTS)

(LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING)

You know,
playing in the snow can be a lot of fun.

You can go skiing and snowboarding,
even building a snowman.

- But when a big pack of ice falls off...
- (MOUNTAIN RUMBLES)

BILL: ...the top of a mountain
and slides down,

well, that’s what we call an avalanche.

Yeah, kinda, kinda like that.

And while avalanches are dangerous,
they’re no match for the powerful noses

of avalanche rescue dogs,

and I can hardly wait to show you
what these amazing dogs can do.

I better get out of here.

Today we’re at the mountain resort
in Telluride, Colorado

to meet a team
of very special rescue dogs,

who keep people safe
when they play in the snow.

(BARKS)

- Good morning.
- Hi, I’m Bill.

- Hey, Bill. This is Sadie.
- Who's this?

Oh my gosh, Sadie’s a good-looking girl.

You look very official in your outfits.

- ANDY: Yeah.
- What do you do here at Telluride?

Well, we’re part
of the Telluride Avalanche Dog Program,

and, uh, if there were to be an avalanche
on the ski area,

- Sadie would come save you.
- Oh, my gosh.

I would love to see what you guys do
for a living. Right?

- Well, why don’t we show you?
- Absolutely, let’s go.

Every day, Sadie rides the ski lift
high up in the mountain to start her job.

Avalanches can occur any time,

so Sadie must be able to reach
every nook and cranny of the resort

as fast as possible.

So, like all Avalanche Dogs,
Sadie has been specially trained

- to ride on the lift, on a snowmobile...
- (ENGINE RUMBLING)

BILL: ...and even on skis,

all with a little help
from her handler, Andy.

How long has she been a ski patrol dog?

This is her sixth year doing it.

- Sixth year!
- Yeah,

so, she came up when she was a puppy
and started training,

we work on obedience and transportation
and the basic search, uh, skills,

which is, uh, finding human scent.

Sadie, are you excited?

- (SADIE WHINING)
- (BOTH LAUGH)

That’s so funny, she’s going...
(IMITATES SADIE)

ANDY: She knows we’re almost at the top,
and she’ll start getting pretty excited.

(BILL LAUGHS)

BILL: Mornings begin with a daily briefing
at Ski Patrol Headquarters.

Currently, we have a temperature
of 11 degrees here at PHQ.

Our avalanche hazard is rated moderate,
we’re looking for mostly cloudy skies

and potentially
three to six inches of snow

through the day. Let's go.

BILL: Avalanche rescue dogs have protected
skiers at Telluride for over 30 years.

Sadie is one of seven dogs
that currently patrol

over 2,000 snow-covered acres.

I see that Sadie is all ready
to go out on a patrol,

but I have a couple questions.

What exactly is an avalanche
and what, what makes one happen?

ANDY: Yeah, well, in the mountains,

- we get a lot of snow...
- BILL: Yeah.

- ANDY: ...and on these steeper slopes...
- (MOUNTAIN RUMBLING)

ANDY: ...uh, the snow builds up,

and it will naturally avalanche at times.

BILL: When tons of snow crash down
a mountainside,

the force packs a wallop,
burying everything in its path,

including trees, rocks,
and sometimes people.

If an avalanche is coming,
why can’t you just outrun it?

ANDY: Well, avalanches can travel
up to 100 miles per hour

- down a steep mountain...
- BILL: Wow!

ANDY: ...and so just the amount of volume
and the air blast from that avalanche

can make it near to impossible
for you to outrun it.

Really? So, it makes it difficult
to dig yourself out of one, right?

Almost impossible.

And that’s where Sadie comes in, right?

Yeah, so if somebody were
to be caught buried in an avalanche,

um, they’re trained to smell human scent
under the snow.

But how do you train a dog
to be an avalanche rescue dog?

Well, Bill, why don’t we go outside
and I’ll show you?

- Oh, I gotta zip up, it’s cold out.
- (LAUGHS)

Sadie, you ready to go to work?
You ready to go to work?

(PANTS AND BARKS)

BILL: Sadie trains every day
to keep her skills sharp.

There’s no telling
when an avalanche might happen,

so, Sadie must be ready to search
at a moment’s notice.

So, today we’re gonna do
an article search...

- BILL: Uh-huh.
- ...and basically the way that works is

we’ve buried a wool,

human-scented rag under the snow,

and that’s to simulate
a deep human burial,

which is actually a very
advanced dog skill,

and when she finds the rag...

- BILL: Uh-huh.
- ...or the wool blanket,

we’re gonna play tug-of-war with her
and that’s gonna be her reward.

- That’s cool, I can hardly wait.
- Sadie, search.

BILL: Sadie must pick up the blanket scent
through heavy, wet snow,

that once settled,
becomes as hard as cement.

Let’s see if she can do it.

(INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING)

What do you got? What do you got there?
What do you got?

Oh, good girl.

- Well, she found it. Oh, my goodness.
- ANDY: Oh, yeah. That's a good girl.

Yeah, good girl! Aah!

Good girl. Good search dog.

BOTH: Woo!

Way to go, Sadie!

A top avalanche dog trains for months
to master a wide range of skills,

but it all starts with learning
how to hitch a ride

and getting to know her way
around the mountain.

- Hello, Sam. How are you?
- Good, how are you Bill?

Who do you have here?
This looks like the youngest member

- of the team.
- Yeah, this is Gretchen.

- Hello, Gretchen.
- SAM: Heh, heh.

Oh, my gosh, what a kisser.

(BILL LAUGHING)

Are you ready to do some training?

I think she is. Come on.

Next step, learn to respond
to voice commands

and start to master her tracking skills,

even if it takes a little help
and encouragement.

- SAM: I’ll take her toy that she likes...
- BILL: Okay.

SAM: ...and I’ll run over there,
she’ll be able to see me,

and at a point, you’ll release her,
and hopefully, she’ll come find me.

- Okay. Gretchen, search.
- (SAM IMITATES BARKING)

SAM: Yeah, Gretchen. Oh, good girl.

Get the tuggie, get the tuggie. Good girl!

BILL: Gretchen’s off to a great start
on the basics.

Soon, she’ll graduate to much harder games
of hide and seek, until eventually,

she’ll take on the hardest test of all,
the blind search,

as Sadie is about to show us.

Well, Andy, I don’t see Sadie
anywhere around here, where is she?

- Well I left her up at the patrol shack...
- BILL: Uh-huh.

ANDY: ...so, that she can be hidden away.

We’re down here at our training area

where we are gonna do
a blind search with her.

We have these three mounds of snow
in our training area,

and this is to simulate
an avalanche burial.

We would use these caves
to put a person in,

and we give them Sadie’s toy.

- BILL: A toy?
- ANDY: Yup.

And then, they find the person.

Exactly, so she identifies the human scent
with the toy, which is part of the game,

she gets her toy
and gets to play tug-of-war.

- Who are you gonna put in the cave?
- Well, we’re gonna put you in there, Bill.

I should’ve known.

Ah, you’ll do great.

There aren’t any bears in there,
are there?

No, sir.

- Feel like a groundhog.
- (ANDY CHUCKLES)

- Just like this, huh?
- ANDY: Yes, sir, you’re doing great.

BILL: I feel like I’m camping out
in my refrigerator.

I’ve got my blanket,
hopefully Sadie can smell this,

and save me.

Sadie, search.

BILL: Sadie’s powerful sniffer can smell
a person

trapped under 20 feet of packed, wet snow,

even when that snow turns to ice.

At least, that’s what they told me.

I wonder how fast Sadie will find me.

These rescue dogs can search
an avalanche zone

the size of two football fields,
in less than 30 minutes.

It would take 20 people up to four hours
to search the exact same area.

- She’ll scan the snowfields...
- (SNIFFS)

BILL: ...for pools of scent,

clues given off by the trapped person
that help Sadie zero in on their location.

I hear something.

Oh, I think I see her.

Sadie, that’s a good girl.
Good girl, good girl.

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Oh yeah, way to go, Sadie!
You’re saving me. Way to go!

(GRUNTS AND PANTS)

- (LAUGHS)
- ANDY: Good girl. Good girl.

- That’s a good search dog,
- (GROWLS)

that’s a good search dog.

- She did it! She saved me.
- ANDY: Come here.

Good girl. Good girl!

Andy, I want to thank you
and Sadie and Gretchen

and all the other rescue dogs
here at Telluride.

It’s really important to know
that there are dogs all around the world

that are keeping you safe
when you’re out in the snow.

I gotta tell you though,
it’s cold in there,

and I think it’s about time for me
to head inside

and have a little bit of hot chocolate,
what do you think?

- That sounds great to me.
- Let’s go.

(BARKS)

BILL: Hey, everyone!
Time for some pet friendly pointers,

told with the help
of a very special friend.

(PLUTO BARKING)

Is there anything cuter than a puppy?

Everyone loves them!

But with all that joy,
comes a lot of responsibility.

Because like you, puppies grow up quickly.

So, here are a few puppy pointers
to get everyone off to a good start.

First, prepare your house.

Puppies love to chew on things.

So, pick up everything,
and replace them with chew toys.

TANGO'S OWNER: All right, Tango,
welcome to your new home.

BILL: On day one,

spend time letting your puppy get
to know you, your smell...

- TANGO'S OWNER: Come here, boy.
- BILL: ...and your voice.

Oh, good boy.

BILL: Pet their ears, touch their paws,
and rub their belly.

After all, the pup probably just left
its mother and its littermates.

Look what I got for you.

BILL: So, extra love and comfort
is essential.

A little luck of the Irish.

- Fun time!
- BILL: And when nature calls,

don’t forget,
puppies need a lot of potty breaks

so take them outside often.

Return to the same spot every time,

and offer lots of praise,

and your puppy will be potty trained
in no time.

Finally, teach your new puppy
to love the crate.

It can be a go-to safe space
for a little guy.

Stock it with a bone
and a comfy blanket or towel.

That will really make them feel at home.

Remember, never leave a puppy inside
a crate for more than four hours,

but the more comfortable you make it,

the more they’ll find it
a perfect place to nap.

Because puppies not only play hard,
they sleep hard, too.

- Oh. (LAUGHS)
- (PLUTO BARKING)

BILL: Today, we landed at one of
the busiest airports...

- (DOG BARKING)
- BILL: ...in the world.

Los Angeles International Airport,

to find out how a group
of highly trained professionals

protects our food
from some unexpected travelers.

Traveling is fun, but when you’re flying
into the United States,

you gotta be real careful
about what you’re bringing with you.

That souvenir you have might have insects
or something else

that's bad for the plants
and animals here at home.

The good news is that there’s a group
of dedicated heroes

who are doing everything they can
to make us safe.

BILL: Faster than a speeding baggage cart,

able to leap carry-ons in a single bound,

it’s a bird, it’s a plane,

it’s the Beagle Brigade.

- Oh, my gosh, look at this.
- (DOG BARKING)

This must be
the world-famous Beagle Brigade,

- right?
- Yeah, yeah.

BILL: Look at these guys.

Have you ever seen
a better-looking group of beagles?

(LAUGHS)

They’re beautiful.
Now, what is the Beagle Brigade?

Uh, we’re a group of handlers
of beagle and beagle mixes.

We’re inspecting passenger baggage

as they come down
from international flights.

- BILL: And this?
- OFFICER CHEN: This is Pollo.

What a good-looking dog you are, Pollo.

How long has Pollo been a search dog?

He’s four and a half
and he started at three,

so about a year and a half right now.

- BILL: You can’t beat the nose that knows.
- CHEN: No, no. He knows what you have.

BILL: Why beagles as opposed
to another type of dog?

CHEN: Beagles are very well liked...

- BILL: Uh-huh.
- CHEN: ...they are very small,

they’re cute,
they don’t intimidate children.

Now, do they get a reward
when they find something in a suitcase?

- Oh, absolutely. They won’t work for free.
- Let’s go see how they do.

(BARKS)

(COLLAR JINGLING)

BILL: As many as 40,000 people a day
travel through the international terminal

- at the LA Airport.
- CHEN: Yeah.

I just need to look inside
this little red bag

that she has her foot on.

BILL: That’s a lot of bags.

CHEN: Coming right behind you.

Sit, sit, sit. Good boy.

BILL: And even one pest getting through
could mean big trouble.

That’s where the beagles come in.

CHEN: And this one is your bag, ma’am?
Is there any food inside this one?

BILL: While Pollo and the rest
of the Beagle Brigade

put their noses to work,

I want to find out more about
what exactly they’re sniffing for.

(SNIFFS)

BILL: This looks like a grocery store
out here. What is all of this?

This is, on an average week,
what we will see

of unique items coming in
from all over the world.

Here is an apple.
Why would you confiscate an apple?

We have insects that come in in the stems

that we don’t have here
in the United States.

- It could wipe out crops.
- BILL: Really?

OFFICER FERGUSON:
Just on this table alone,

if there were the insect and the disease
in each of these items,

that would be millions and millions
of dollars in damage to crops,

farmers’ livelihood,
and even your backyard fruit.

So, that’s where we rely
on the Beagle Brigade.

They train twice a month...

- BILL: Uh-huh.
- ...and today is your lucky day.

- Today is Beagle training day.
- Oh, really?

- Yes.
- I’ve gotta see that.

- Hurry up before they finish.
- I’m on my way.

On the far side of the airport
is the Brigade training terminal,

where even the most veteran beagle
must keep their nose finely tuned.

So, their handlers create
training exercises like this one,

hiding three target scents
among more than 50 bags.

Let’s see if Pollo can pass
the smell test.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)

Well, Pollo,
I guess there’s a test for you.

Let’s see how you do.

Let's go. Go on, find it.

(SNIFFS)

BILL: When he locates a target,
Pollo sits down to alert his handler.

CHEN: You like the black one.

Yes, good job, Pollo.

- Good boy! Nice.
- He nailed that.

CHEN: Up, up, up, up.

Come on. Come here. Oh, oh.

- Oh, the blue one.
- BILL: Oh, wow.

Yes. Good boy, Pollo!

- BILL: He nailed another one.
- CHEN: Good job, buddy.

- It’s like a beagle buffet.
- CHEN: Oh, good boy.

BILL: Now, I see why Pollo
is such a hard worker.

Beagles love their treats.

(SNIFFS)

- CHEN: He likes this one. Good job, Pollo.
- That’s one smart nose.

(BARKS)

- BILL: Pollo was getting a lot of treats.
- Training day is one of his favorite days.

- BILL: Now, is Pollo ever wrong?
- CHEN: No.

BILL: Pollo sure knows how to do his job.

If someone thinks they can outsmart him,

well, let me show you how good
he really is.

Do you think it'd be okay
if I gave him a test

and made it a little bit harder to see
if he could find it?

You can try, he’s very good at his job.

- Okay, I’m gonna go get it ready.
- Okay.

- See you later there, Pollo.
- Bye-bye.

I know that Pollo really has
a great sense of smell,

but let’s put him to a real test.
I’m gonna take these oranges

and put them in a jar,

and we’re gonna put that jar
inside of a bag,

and close the bag so that
he can’t smell anything.

Inside the box, box is shut,
and inside the luggage it goes.

Now let’s see how good a smeller
he really has.

(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)

BILL: In an airport this big,
the smells are everywhere.

But a beagle like Pollo

has more than 225 million scent receptors
in their nose.

CHEN: Let me just look inside
here real quick.

What kind of food do you have?

BILL: That means Pollo can smell more than
a thousand times better than you or me.

(UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES)

(SNIFFS)

CHEN: What’s that, Pollo?
And do you have any fruits

or vegetables in this bag?
Because Pollo’s sitting on you.

(CHUCKLES) You got me.
Way to go, Pollo!

- I’ve got some oranges in there.
- CHEN: You got some oranges? Okay.

BILL: Good dog, Pollo.

You got me, orange handed.

Pollo, you have an amazing nose.

You said he’s never wrong,
and you’re absolutely right.

You know, it’s good to know

that there are dogs like Pollo
and the Beagle Brigade

all across the U.S. at airports,
keeping us all safe,

one sniff at a time. (SNIFFS)

I can’t smell it.

So far, we've met some incredible dogs.

Now, it's time for you
to show us your special pets.

GOOFY: Now, time for
Goofy's Hometown Heroes. (CHUCKLES)

SARAH: Yes, good boy.

Hi, my name is Sarah,

and I live in Napa, California,
and this is Aaron.

He’s a comfort dog
with a very special job.

Aaron’s unique because he doesn’t belong
to just one person or a family.

He belongs to our whole congregation.

Aaron is a Lutheran church charities
canine comfort dog.

Aaron has whole team that helps him
provide comfort to the community.

A request will come in,
we’ll check out when he has an opening

and try and coordinate with the requester.

He goes to schools, nursing homes,
911 dispatch centers,

veterans’ home, church.

He has 13 different handlers.

We have a shared digital calendar
so they can see what events he has,

they know where to pick him up
and where to drop him off,

and what’s gonna happen after their visit.

Aaron is pretty busy.

So, we make sure that Aaron has
downtime when he’s not working.

Let’s see this paw here.
What do we got?

SARAH: We will give him a massage,

we’ll start from head
and go all the way to tail,

just massaging him and just helping him
and just helping him release

that stress or emotion.

He doesn’t want to get up.

SARAH: Aaron also is invited
to special events

like Memorial Day remembrances

Veterans Day ceremonies,
lots of different kids camps,

Aaron has been deployed to five wildfires
here in Northern California.

There are firefighters
from across the country,

and also from other countries,
that come to help fight these fires.

Team Aaron comes to base camp
to greet the firefighters

as they come off their shifts.

If we can be there
to just let them pet Aaron

and give them a chance to destress...

We’re thankful for the opportunity
to be able to help,

even just a little bit,

these amazing people
who help us so very much.

He’s there to hug, to snuggle,

he’s able to help people
who are having a tough day.

He loves his people no matter what,
and that’s what I love most about Aaron.

For being there when others need
a helping paw,

that dog is a real Hometown Hero.
(CHUCKLES)

(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)