Quiet cat uses silence to help train search dogs
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FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- A local cat named Cheetos is helping lost pets find their way home without ever uttering a word.
The quiet cat uses his silence to help train search dogs to find missing pets.
The 21-pound cat is specially trained for the task. He knows not to make a sound as he waits to be found by the searching canine with the organization Missing Pet Partnership.
The group's spokesperson Kat Albrecht says the dogs train in this setting as most lost or injured pets are not likely to make any noise. So the dogs are taught to rely on their sense of smell.
"When he smells cats, his tail will go in a whirly circle and we know he's got cat scent," said the group's Kat Albrecht of a searching dog.
It took Albrecht four intense months to teach Cheetos to be a quiet cat.
"We put out food and allowed birds and squirrels to come to a feeding station, and put the cat in the carrier right by the food," she said.
Albrecht first got the idea when she lost one of her pets. She knows the heartbreak.
"The work that we do is very rewarding and very emotional in reuniting a pet," she said.
Missing Pet Partnership is always in need of volunteers. You can volunteer at MissingPetPartnership.org.
Cheetos is scheduled to be featured on Animal Planet at 8 p.m. on March 17.
The quiet cat uses his silence to help train search dogs to find missing pets.
The 21-pound cat is specially trained for the task. He knows not to make a sound as he waits to be found by the searching canine with the organization Missing Pet Partnership.
The group's spokesperson Kat Albrecht says the dogs train in this setting as most lost or injured pets are not likely to make any noise. So the dogs are taught to rely on their sense of smell.
"When he smells cats, his tail will go in a whirly circle and we know he's got cat scent," said the group's Kat Albrecht of a searching dog.
It took Albrecht four intense months to teach Cheetos to be a quiet cat.
"We put out food and allowed birds and squirrels to come to a feeding station, and put the cat in the carrier right by the food," she said.
Albrecht first got the idea when she lost one of her pets. She knows the heartbreak.
"The work that we do is very rewarding and very emotional in reuniting a pet," she said.
Missing Pet Partnership is always in need of volunteers. You can volunteer at MissingPetPartnership.org.
Cheetos is scheduled to be featured on Animal Planet at 8 p.m. on March 17.
