Liz Stavrinides - Extraordinary Dogs: Stories from Search and Rescue Dogs, Comfort Dogs, and Other Canine Heroes

Y ou are about to meet more than fifty of the most courageous, heroic, and compassionate dogs in the world. Along with the police officers, firefighters, veterans, and other trained volunteer handlers who serve side by side with them, these furry beacons of hope will tug at your heartstrings, make you smile, and affirm the steadfast power within every one of us to endure, heal, and triumph over adversity.

The stories and photographs that follow are an unprecedented glimpse through the private lens of comfort dogs and search and rescue dogs, along with bomb-detecting TSA dogs and canine ambassadors from across the United States.

In addition to the first responders and those who are directly affected, most of these K-9 teams are the only other individuals who are allowed into the most guarded, vulnerable, and devastated places on earth to help bring relief, closure, and peace.

Throughout Extraordinary Dogs, these teams extend a rare invitation to you to come along for the ride and to see for yourself how even amid the darkest of situations there is always light to be found.

The Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry will take you behind the scenes of their headlining deployments, such as the Boston Marathon bombing, Superstorm Sandy, and the mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Pulse nightclub, the Route 91 Harvest festival, and First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Youll meet unforgettable survivors and unsung heroes while discovering the truest meaning of fellowship and of moving forward.

Youll also get to tag along with these comfort dog teams on their daily visits to schools and libraries, churches, hospitals and hospices, courtrooms and prisons, police and fire departments, 911 call centers, military bases and veterans centers, drug and rehab facilities, summer camps for families of fallen soldiers and police officers, and even a very special pediatric dentists office.

Search and rescue K-9 teams from the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation and Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS) will reveal what its really like to travel into the eye of natural disasters, accidents, crime scenes, and the worst terrorist strike in recorded history. Youll join them on the front lines of building explosions, plane crashes, wildfires, the Montecito mudslides, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Puerto Rico following the devastation of Hurricane Maria, the search for missing persons, the hunt for criminals on the run, and the smoldering remains of the Twin Towers following the September 11 terrorist attack.

Youll also learn how SARDUS is breaking new ground within the search and rescue world by working with veterans on the next great mission of their lives through the Returning Soldier Initiative.

At Washington Dulles International Airport, youll be introduced to several of the Department of Homeland Securitys TSA dogs whose sole job it is to keep the flying public safe from explosives and other dangers. They give a whole new meaning to traveling the friendly skies.

Rescued by the Vanderpump Dog Foundation, two of the original dogs who survived the annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China will warm your heart by showing how they and their new families here in the United States have transformed unspeakable pain and harrowing escapes into platforms for doing good works. They now raise awareness as grassroots ambassadors for many different issues and inspire everyone they meet to embrace the better angels of their nature.

And, get ready to catch the waves in sunny Southern California with an internationally acclaimed champion surf dog named Ricochet, who is changing the lives of veterans with PTSD, as well as children and adults with various disabilities, one surfboard at a time.

Extraordinary Dogs is both a portrait of what love, hope, courage, and heroism look like in their purest forms and a tribute to the eternal and impactful bonds we forge with our furry friends.

John Schlimm

T alk about multitasking and pawing it forward!

The San Diegobased golden retriever known as Surf Dog Ricochet to her millions of fans around the world is not only a champion surfer, but she does so while helping and healing disabled children and adults, veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and many others, one wave at a time.

Ricochet was originally training to be a service dog, explains Judy Fridono, a longtime trainer and founder of the nonprofit Puppy Prodigies, but then life redirected us along the ultimate pathway we were meant to travel.

This energetic duo has been together from the very beginning. Ricochet was born in my home and took her first breath in my hands, Judy says. From that moment onward, she chose her life purpose, and Ive nurtured it.

While working on her service dog task training at eight weeks old, Ricochet also began balance and coordination training on a boogie board in a kiddie pool. After being in the ocean only a few times, she was invited to compete in 2009s Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge in Huntington Beach, where she won third place in the Large Surf Dog category.

This competition was a pivotal point in Ricochets destiny, Judy recalls with a smile, because it was already evident that her interest in chasing birds, bunnies, squirrels, and other small animals was going to prevent her from becoming a traditional service dog.

When she won third place, suddenly the issue was no longer about what she couldnt do, but instead the focus shifted in the new direction of what she could do! This was the moment a dead end transformed into a journey of infinite possibilities.

The idea of Ricochet becoming the worlds first SURFice dog was born that day right there on the beach.

Ricochet was one of the original Southern California surf dogs on the dog surfing circuit. She went on to win multiple first-, second-, and third-place awards, while also getting her paws wet as a budding philanthropist. She quickly became the top fund-raiser when the various competitions raised money for charity.

Ricochet can instantly bond with anyone. She makes a deep heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul connection, Judy explains.