Blood tracking testing for NJ handlers

I received the info from Andy Bensing, who administered the testing over two weekends. We wrote about the first weekend at click here. Below is Andy's report about the second weekend of testing.

On Friday August 27, 2010 five NJ hunters traveled to Reading PA to take the United Blood Trackers UBT-I evaluation in hopes of qualifying for the Special Wildlife Management Permit researching the feasibility of the use of leashed blood tracking dogs in NJ. Four of the five passed the evaluation. Sam Palumbo and his drahthaar, Axel, John Drahos and his Labrador retriever, Kelsey, Harry Katon and his wirehaired dachshund, Duncan, and Darren Doran and his wirehaired dachshund, Karl all will be on this year's permit. Unfortunately, Stan Kite's dog Rilla was not able to qualify. Rilla is a very promising 3 month old puppy and Stan was taking a shot to try and get on the permit yet this year. Rilla is too young to do much real life blood tracking right now but by later in the season she will be 6 or 7 months old and if she could have qualified now, she would have been an asset to the permit then. I am sure she will make it for next year.

Dog Handlers left to right: John Drahos, Stan Kite, Harry Katon, Sam Palumbo. Andy Bensing, UBT Judge, standing in the middle in the back.

Darren Doran with his dog Karl passed the evaluation later in the day separate from the rest of the group. Darren is the coordinator for this year's NJ permit and without all his volunteer efforts, there likely would not even be a permit this year. Darren showed up later in the day in Reading PA because he first traveled from his Central Jersey home to NY state in the morning to take the NY State Leashed Blood Tracking License exam then had to drive home to Jersey, pick up his dog, and then drive 2 ½ hours to Reading for the UBT-I evaluation. Darren is quite a busy and dedicated guy.

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In addition to the NJ trackers coming to PA to take the UBT evaluations, two non-new Jersey trackers recently took evaluations in PA as well. Andy Pedersen and his wire haired dachshund, Ruby, from southern Maryland passed the UBT-I and Troy Wallace and his wirehaired dachshund, Maggie, passed the more advanced UBT-II. Troy tracks in DE and MD but lives in PA which is a non-tracking state. He has been actively involved in helping to legalize tracking in PA and is hoping to be able to track in his home state by next year (2011).

Andy Bensing and Troy Wallace with Maggie