K9 Pepper nabs honors in Houston

Cajun Coast Search and Rescue Team Commander Tony Wade and K9 Pepper were honored last weekend at a movie premier in Houston, Texas.
According to Wade, Daniel Furgeson, director of the film, Superpower Dogs, contacted Wade and invited K9 Pepper to be given a medal at the movie’s premier, as one of 12 “superpower dogs” from across the nation.
“We were honored to be one of those 12 dogs,”
Wade said of K9 Pepper’s having been selected.
“It was a really nice event.”
Wade is having a busy couple of weeks. This weekend, with Saturday’s Hogs for Dogs Poker Run fundraiser at 8 a.m. at the Roadhouse Bar in Springfield, as well as next week, Wade will be giving a lecture on canine search and rescue, Tuesday, at the Houston Museum of Natural Science at 6 p.m.
Wade and Pepper were also voted Officer and K9 of the Year by the organization’s social media followers.
They have have logged in over 200 hours of search time this year.
He also said he is working with local and state government to set up a statewide storm preparedness training exercise in St. Mary Parish, to take place in July.
“We just participated in one (training exercise) a couple of weeks ago out in Myrtle Grove with the National Guard and everybody, and it was a really nice day,” Wade said.
“We are trying to put one together for St. Mary Parish. We’re working with the National Guard, Wildlife and Fisheries, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Department and Emergency Operation of St. Mary Parish, trying to get everybody on board to take part in this training.”
He further stated the training would include a fake levee breach during a hurricane, offering opportunities for “a lot of boat work and foot work.”
If the training exercise comes together like Wade described, it will involve between 300 and 400 search and rescue personnel from across the state, which would, aside from sharpening emergency preparedness chops, effect local economies through the hospitality, food service and retail industries.