b'words by Anna Cooke, photograph by Gesi SchillingA Peaceful Heart CultivatesA Warriors SpiritE verythingtheyeverdidtogetherwouldprepare Marcus so impacted my life. When he died, I was notthem tactically for the Surfside disaster in South in the best frame of mind, said Imbaro, who has worked asFlorida. But no amount of trainingphysical or a K-9 police and military trainer for more than 20 years. AmentalcouldeveremotionallyprepareSineadImbaro friend of mine contacted me about a litter of Malinois pup-andherBelgianMalinois,Magnus,forwhattheywere pies. But I wasnt interested in another dog at the moment,about to experience. It would be their first deployment as especially not a Malinois. She recalled an incident shellpartofFloridaTaskForce6,oneofthestatesurban neverforget,walkingintoahotelroomwhereanothersearch-and-rescueunits. Whatsmore,theassignmentto friend was staying with his Malinois. The dog was sitting,find signs of life in the rubble was in Imbaros hometown. shaking from wanting to work so bad. He had destroyedFor almost a week Imbaro and Magnus searched in the that hotel room.ruins of what used to be Champlain Towers South, a 12- Nevertheless,herfriendpersistedwiththeMalinoisstorycondominiumwith136residences.Sixty-sevenof puppies, sending her photos, egging her on with questionsthose units crumbled to the ground in seconds during the like, If you did want one, which one would you choose?early hours of June 24, 2021. Ninety-eight people perished.Imbarojokinglyanswered,TheonewiththebiggestMagnus is trained to sniff human odors of any kind, head.including breath. He found none during their deployment. Asithappened,ImbarowasattendingaconferenceNot being able to deliver for the families is what was most near where the litter of Malinois was located. After morepainful, Imbaro recalled during our phone conversation. coaxing from her friend, she took her two adult GermanTherewasnowaytopreparefortheemotionfrom Shepherd Dogs, and drove out to see the puppies.being there. Three puppies started following my dogs. Then one ofMorethanfourhundredcounty,stateandfederal the three started following me everywhere, Imbaro said.rescue workers were searching for survivors. All of the three She gave the puppy a couple of tests, including climbingdozen people pulled alive from the wreckage were discov- stairs. He tried with all of his might to get up those stairseredonthedayofthecollapse.Still,Imbaroremained with me, said Imbaro. She took him home, and namedhopefulninedaysintotheirdeployment,eventhough him Magnus, which literally means great in Latin.experience had taught her that the chances of finding addi- He was as big as his head, at seven weeks old. tional survivors become slimmer with each passing day.Imbaro knew she wanted to do detection work withWhatwesawonthepilewasheartbreaking, Magnus. She visited a trainer friend who took one look,saidImbaro.Especiallyfortheguyswhohadkids andsaidMagnuswastoosoftforthework.Myheartat home. sank, she said.At the start of each 12-hour shift, Imbaro would take Inthemeantime,justforfun,ImbarowaspostingMagnus to meet with the other search-and-rescue crews. about life with Magnus on social media. Out of the blue aThey would hug him. Magnus brought comfort to me and Belgian police officer contacted her through Facebook andmy task force, she said. The guys would watch him on the sent her photos of his police dog, a Malinois, doing tricks.pile and kept him safe. Magnus is a great warrior. Anything Imbaro commented that she wished her dog could do thoseI have put him through, throughout our training, he has tricks. The officer responded, Your dog can do it.conquered. Over the next few months, via video chat, the policeBefore Magnus came into Imbaros life, she had just officertaughtImbarowhatheknew,andshe,inturn,lost Marcus, her longhaired German Shepherd Dog.trained Magnus. Continued on the following page g30 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'