Dog Detectives
Train Your Dog to Find Lost Pets

by Kat Albrecht

Dogs who have an aptitude for using their noses and who love to play with other dogs or kitties (or maybe ferrets) make great Dog Detectives. Everyone whose pet has disappeared knows the feelings of fear and helplessness when faced with the question, "What do I do now?" You can help create happy endings and make your dog a hero by training him to find lost pets using the step-by-step methods in Dog Detectives.

Retired police K-9 officer Kat Albrecht applies law enforcement based search-and-rescue techniques as well as forensic analysis to the challenge of locating lost pets. Like lost people, lost pets behave in predictable ways and once you understand these patterns and combine them with the talents of your canine partner you will be more successful in recovering a lost animal.

Kat Albrecht, author of Lost Pet Chronicles, is a former police Bloodhound handler, search-and-rescue manager, and police officer-turned-pet detective. Since 1989 she and her search dogs have successfully located criminals, physical evidence, missing persons, and missing pets for both police agencies and private clients. Kat has been featured in Reader's Digest and Ladies Home Journal as well as programs on Animal Planet. She is the founder of Missing Pet Partnership www.missingpetpartnership.org a non-profit that manages the first-ever pet detective academy. Kat lives in Clovis, California with her three dogs and three cats.

You will learn:

• What breeds and temperament types make the best Dog Detectives.
• How to test your dog's suitability for this work.
• How to predict lost pet behavior and use forensics to conduct searches.
• How to train your dog using these proven, step-by-step methods.
• How you can become a volunteer or professional Pet Detective.

Canine experts endorse Dog Detectives:

"Give your dog a job! This valuable book will enable you to offer a viable, effective new service for pet owners. Make your dog a hometown hero!"
Marty Becker, DVM, best-selling author, Chicken Soup series, TV veterinary expert, columnist

"Wild applause for Kat Albrecht's work in establishing and promoting the emerging field of lost pet recovery. With this book others can learn her positive training techniques and benefit from her vast knowledge."
Pat Miller, Author of Positive Perspectives: Love Your Dog, Train Your Dog

"This ground-breaking book is clearly laid out and addresses all questions anyone hoping to train their dog to recover lost pets is likely to have. Blending time-honored search and trailing techniques with her own innovations, Kat has come up with a very user-friendly training system."
Steve White, retired police K-9 officer, author of How Police K-9 Techniques Can Transform Your Everyday Training DVD

The Lost Pet Chronicles:
Adventures of a K-9 Cop Turned Pet Detective

by Kat Albrecht with Jana Murphy

Combining the thrill of C.S.I.’s forensic detective work with the warmth and charm of All Creatures Great and Small, Kat Albrecht, the nation’s first law-enforcement-based pet detective, shares her often inspiring, occasionally heartbreaking, and always engaging journey from working as a beat cop to becoming the world’s foremost expert in locating lost pets.

For millions of people, a pet is more than just an animal that shares a living space. These millions will do anything to recover a four-legged member of the family when it goes missing. Unfortunately, most people just don’t know where to look. Kat Albrecht is the person they call. Unable to pass a "Lost Pet" poster without stopping, she has combined a natural gift for training animals with an extensive background in investigative crime search techniques to create proven strategies for finding lost pets.

Using investigative techniques such as probability theory, behavioral profiling, and physical searches by trained dogs, Albrecht has helped over 1,800 pet owners locate their lost dogs, cats, snakes, turtles, ferrets, and horses. Along the way, Kat has faced one-of-a-kind challenges in her work: technical issues such as teaching her trained search dogs to pursue missing pets, unexpected roadblocks (How do you convince a forensics lab to conduct a DNA test on a cat'’s whisker?), and the surprising difficulties associated with living in the shadow of the comedic "Ace Ventura" image her job title inevitably conjures. Those challenges are balanced by unique joys, though, each time Kat helps reunite a missing pet with its owners.

Lost Pet Chronicles tells the fascinating and heart-warming story of Kat’s unlikely career path— and of how, along the way, doing the work she loved transformed her from a dissatisfied, disaffected cop into a woman who has found her true calling.

Testimonials

"The Lost Pet Chronicles is an intriguing read and Kat Albrecht is an
inspiration. Each year thousands of pets go missing. Families are left heartbroken, wondering if their beloved pets are alive, suffering or worse, and most just want an answer. Kat Albrecht and her canine companions offer an alternative to the reward posters we so often see posted around town--a definitive, scientifically-based method of finding Fifi and Fido."
--Ed Sayres, President of the ASPCA

"Follow the exciting adventures of Police Officer turned Pet Detective Kat Albrecht and her dogs Rachel, A.J. and Chase as they solve the 'who dunits" of missing people and pets. This book is filled with fascinating true stories and life saving advice for pets and their owners. Think of combining the Animal Planet cable television network with CSI Miami and Police Woman and that's what you have with The Lost Pet Chronicles. This is a book you won't want to put down!
--Dr. Larry Lachman, Animal Behavior Consultant, Clinical Psychologist, author of Dogs on the Couch, Cats on the Counter, and Birds off the Perch

"It's comforting to know that this amazing woman and her brave dogs are out there making a difference. I learned so much from this fascinating book. Add this to your must-read list if you share your life with an animal companion."
--Pam Johnson-Bennett, author of Hiss and Tell: True Stories from the Files of a Cat Shrink

"I found myself enthralled with these amazing rescue stories. Follow Kat Albrecht's step by step advice, and you'll have your pet back off the streets and under your sheets!"
-- Dr. Marty Becker, Veterinary contributor to ABC TV's Good Morning America, Chief Veterinary Correspondent for Amazon.com and co-author of Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul

"Fascinating! The stories of Kat and her dog searching for lost pets are
riveting."
-- Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D.,author of The Other End of the Leash

"The Lost Pet Chronicles is inspiring and informative, and should be required reading for everyone. Kat Albrecht is the Sherlock Holmes of pet detectives."
-- Bashkim Dibra, celebrity pet trainer and author of Your Dream Dog

"This book details the life and times of a police search dog trainer/handler and her metamorphosis into a real life Ace Ventura - a pet detective/pet finder. The book is a good read for anyone interested in dogs and intrigue.Two paws up!"
--Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Director of Tufts University Behavior Clinic and author of If Only They Could Speak

"I don't know who is more admirable, Kat Albrecht, who had the smarts and grit to develop a brand new method of finding lost pets, or her heroic tracking dogs, who throw every molecule of their beings into every search. This inspiring story of Kat and her canine crew has all the excitement of a detective novel as they tackle one tough assignment after another. It also has plenty of heart, along with fascinating details on how tracking dogs do their thing. Valuable tips on finding your own runaway dog or cat make this a valuable resource, too."
-- Bob Tarte, author of Enslaved by Ducks

"Kat Albrecht's dedication to her own dogs--and to those companion animals she devotes her life to finding--is inspiring and heartwarming. The Lost Pet
Chronicles is both a fascinating account of a unique career and a cautionary tale for all pet owners, who will readily see how important it is to keep their beloved animals close to home."
--Paul G. Irwin, President/CEO of The Humane Society of the United States

"Anyone who ever lost an animal companion knows how heartbreaking it is. The Lost Pet Chronicles is an intriguing account of the ups and downs that led Kat Albrecht to choose the unlikely career of pet detective and how, armed with well-trained pet-sniffing dogs, the modern tools of forensic science, and a healthy dose of compassion, she offers help, hope, and sometimes simple closure to people seeking missing pets. A heartwarming and fascinating read."
--Karen Commings, author of The Dog Lover's and Cat Lover's Survival Guides

"It was a thrill to be asked to preview Kat Albrecht's new book, The Lost Pet Chronicles. She captured the essence of the Weimaraner and the special relationship they have with people in their household. The breed can be very independent, yet dependent, and it can be a challenge to bring out the best in them. I found her book to be a compelling read and had trouble putting it down, except when my own Weims demanded I attend to their needs. Kat certainly is dedicated to her job and to the animals she develops to help her pursue lost people and animals. I found her Bloodhounds to be an interesting contrast to the Weimaraners in her household. This would make a great addition to any dog-lover's collection and particularly to the Weimaraner or Bloodhound fancier. Good luck to Kat the Pet Detective and I look forward to a continuance of her story."
--Rosemary Carlson, President, Weimaraner Club of America

"The minute Kat told me of her work, I knew it would be a terrific book. The Lost Pet Chronicles is a must read for anyone who has had a pet or lost one. For anyone who feels lost in their career, this book will inspire and entertain you as well."
--Susan RoAne, author of How To Work a Room and RoAne's Rules: How To Make the Right Impression

All contents © 2007-2008 Kat Albrecht. All Rights Reserved.