THE BEAUTY OF BEGINNINGS

Every approaching autumn signifies the first annual evaluations. With the commencement of their initial exams, novice rescue dog handlers reflect on their early efforts and enthusiasm. Their desire to save human lives transforms into the first points awarded for their canine partners' performances, judged during the event. Each of these budding handlers often pays the price of nervousness, anxiety, especially since their greatest companion, in their eyes, is absolutely perfect and undoubtedly the best. In rescue work, more than in other competitive fields, the Olympic motto should hold true, prioritizing fair play above all. After all, it's about saving human lives, certainly the most valuable thing a person has.

I recall how, based on the dishonest approach of two colleagues, I managed to leave their company, even though it was a group I had founded years ago and had been organizing the construction of its headquarters for many years. However, fraud has always been fundamentally foreign to me and absolutely unacceptable in the rescue field. One cannot bypass an information embargo and fraudulently obtain a qualification for a dog intended to rescue missing persons. Discovering this breach of rules led to the splitting of the group into two halves and significantly influenced the further development of Czech rescue dog handling. Why do I recall this after years? For one simple reason: I disagree with the notion that everyone today pursues their goal using sharp elbows and at any cost. What leads me to this?

Recently, I assessed a group of complete beginners during their first exam. The final exercise of the entry test is the dog's stay, where the dog waits several dozen steps away from its handler until they return after a few minutes. This exercise is not among the easiest, although it may seem so, and often determines the success of the entire exam. As I was preparing for the final evaluation, the handler, with a guilty expression, informed me that her darling had, at the moment when I had my back turned, slightly crawled away from the designated spot, and thus probably deserved a point deduction. A mere trifle, a half-meter shift is certainly not fatal, but the reminiscence of the behavior of two organizers, who at that time carried maps with the placement of figurants to the starting colleagues, was in its way fatal.

However, one should accept life positively, and the bitterness from the former splitting of a long-standing group has long since completely faded. Especially thanks to these little things that have immense human value and a profound spiritual dimension in their natural form. The sincere approach of the novice rescuer in pointing out her own shortcoming is essentially very touching but certainly closely corresponds to the original idea of rescue dog handling "In the name of man." At the same time, it is in complete contrast to the evoked unpleasant memory.

But let us maintain a positive approach. They say there's always something good in everything bad. With a positive perspective, one can more easily realize that thanks to the splitting of the former group, the discovery and subsequent existence of Londonka occurred. And that is certainly an argument that easily outweighs all negative thoughts. The beautiful nature around the Třeboň area provides unforgettable experiences, elevating everyday life, even with all its hardships, to the highest level. After all, even my observation yesterday of a herd of fifty deer with a magnificent fourteen-pointer at the forefront was breathtaking, as were the daily visits of various wildlife to Londonka. Almost every day around four in the afternoon, a stately roe buck comes to check if we are still in the area; squirrels, or less common birds like lesser spotted woodpeckers, jays, owls, wild pigeons, and turtledoves are at home in the area. A few days ago, my old friend the polecat appeared again, who had previously left such an unpleasant mark on my Exe, who wanted to befriend him. The terrible odor has long since dissipated, but the desire to befriend every living creature has fortunately remained with Exe to this day. He is a shining personal example to me, and I know I still have much to learn from him...