Echoes of a past tragedy haunt Veronica Kildare as she and her talented search and rescue and drug detection dog, Leda, are drawn into an investigation surrounding odd fish and wildlife deaths in the Colorado wilderness by her friend, Kimana, an award-winning investigative reporter. The mystery surrounding this backcountry region deepens when Leda discovers the body of a dead woman in the area under scrutiny and the district wildlife manager is targeted in a devious attack.
While Veronica also trains a conservation canine and a 911 call center therapy dog who are desperately needed as service animals, and searches for lost hikers in peril, her team is soon involved in trying to uncover the identity of the murder victim and the reason for her violent death. Veronica and Leda tenaciously follow the trail of the criminals who have brutally disrupted the serenity of the Repentant River, and it eventually becomes clear that the ominous events originate from more than one source and the villains have far-reaching national and international connections.
With its engaging combination of canine and human personalities, riveting plot, and stunning Colorado scenery, "Sick as a Dog" will appeal to dog lovers, outdoors enthusiasts, and mystery lovers alike.
Echoes of a past tragedy haunt Veronica Kildare as she and her talented search and rescue and drug detection dog, Leda, are drawn into an investigation surrounding odd fish and wildlife deaths in the Colorado wilderness by her friend, Kimana, an award-winning investigative reporter. The mystery surrounding this backcountry region deepens when Leda discovers the body of a dead woman in the area under scrutiny and the district wildlife manager is targeted in a devious attack.
While Veronica also trains a conservation canine and a 911 call center therapy dog who are desperately needed as service animals, and searches for lost hikers in peril, her team is soon involved in trying to uncover the identity of the murder victim and the reason for her violent death. Veronica and Leda tenaciously follow the trail of the criminals who have brutally disrupted the serenity of the Repentant River, and it eventually becomes clear that the ominous events originate from more than one source and the villains have far-reaching national and international connections.
With its engaging combination of canine and human personalities, riveting plot, and stunning Colorado scenery, "Sick as a Dog" will appeal to dog lovers, outdoors enthusiasts, and mystery lovers alike.
Of the two rattlesnakes currently complicating my life, I know for a fact which is more dangerous. It is not the gray-and-brown-blotched one coiled up in the center of the steep rocky trail in front of me at 7,500 feet in the Low Sky Mountains of Cavan County, Colorado. The prairie rattlesnake telegraphs its extreme annoyance at our intrusion as Leda, my five-year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and talented search and rescue partner and drug detection dog, presses back against my shin in warning and curls her lip in disdain at the snake. Leda got the concept of rattlesnake avoidance training in about thirty seconds flat after we moved to Colorado following a personal tragedy in Ohio, and she has zero interest in getting anywhere near that serpent. It’s not surprising to me in the least that Leda has interposed herself between the danger and me. She’s protected me countless times from threats in the past; she considers it her job. I rescued her from euthanasia at the pound and Leda saves me from just about everything else.
Ironically, the “rattlesnake” that is a much more menacing threat to me exists in human form in the Ohio State Penitentiary. Tommy Arnett lives out his miserable days in prison thinking of ways to terrorize me and get his vengeance. The cold-blooded murderer of eight people (including my fiancé, Zach) makes the reptile rattling on the trail ahead of us look like a mere annoyance.
Summer heat shimmers in the sultry air and the echoing roll of thunder from the valley below us grumbles as we engage in an old-fashioned standoff with the impediment to our way forward. More than an hour’s hike remains before we reach the last known position of our missing person, a novice rock climber. Time is literally slipping away. This mountain range was named by the early settlers in this area of Colorado for the propensity of cumulonimbus clouds to blanket the region with ominous thunderheads sitting below and on top of the peaks like an Elizabethan ruff—coupled with frequent and vicious afternoon lightning strikes, often accompanied by hail. Lightning is a significantly overlooked severe weather risk and the sooner we can get up the mountain and back down, the better. Our hastily assembled rapid search team struck out at the crack of dawn this morning at Sheriff Burnside’s request. This is Colorado, so Sheriff Burnside is in charge of search and rescue situations in his county. He’s a man of advanced age and advanced wisdom, and he likes to cut to the chase (pun intended) and call in Leda at the start of any search. The sheriff had already set up the command post at the Safety Center before we arrived—and completed the missing person questionnaire to provide us with the salient details, including the physical description, personality traits, and tendencies of our missing man, Atlis Murray.
Sheriff Burnside totally understands the value of giving Leda the freshest scent possible. Realistically, if someone has gone missing in these mountains, something drastic or even life-threatening has occurred. The sooner they’re found, the greater their chances of surviving whatever calamity has befallen them. (On the bright side, we’re not searching on federal lands, which comprise approximately 650 million acres in the U.S., including national forests and parks and land managed by the BLM.) Since Leda located a missing hiker this past spring 100 feet down an abandoned mine shaft in the teeth of an encroaching, raging forest fire, Sheriff Burnside has all the evidence he needs to justify recruiting Leda up front. The prompt call-up is a benefit we don’t always get, but it still takes time to navigate from the mustering point to the place we plan to start our search.
We’re fortunate in that regard, as the missing climber had informed a friend where he was headed to attempt a new climbing route. (The more experienced friend, who was scheduled to accompany him, withdrew due to injury, and strongly advised our disappeared party not to undertake the journey alone. Warning ignored.) Fortuitously, my father, Bob, knew that remote camera surveillance was in place very near to that location—keeping an eye in the sky on a valuable water gate on the Repentant River for the local municipal water authority. Dad obtained this critical firsthand knowledge because, as a highly-respected tester and reviewer of products for companies and magazines, he had been asked to investigate this very product for the town. He was able to confirm with the manager of the water authority that their recorded footage corroborates Atlis Murray passing by the location of the remote camera two days ago at noon. Having a verified starting point, or last known position, of the missing person is a luxury I don’t intend to waste. Our probability of containment—or the likelihood that we will be looking in the correct place—seems relatively strong. Atlis was reported as late and missing from this scheduled day trip by his anxious and heavily pregnant wife and I’ve had just about enough of looking at this damn snake.
Sgt. Tim Donovan, the invaluable third member of our core team, moves ahead of me cautiously and uses his hiking pole to encourage the undulating rattler to vacate the trail and sinuously head off into the brush downhill over the sheer rock face and away from us. As my well-trained follow person and a Boulder County sheriff’s deputy, Tim is responsible for navigation, coordination among members of the search team, securing a crime scene if necessary, protection from bears—and now apparently, snake wrangling.
“Alright, Veronica, let’s get this show on the road. We’ll reach 9,500 feet in elevation soon and be above the range of any other prairie rattlers. Leda has a missing rock climber to find,” he reminds me as I watch the vibrating rattles of the snake’s tail disappear, while ardently wishing I could make Tommy Arnett vanish over a precipitous cliff too and into the depths of Hades where he rightfully belongs.
Sick As a Dog is the third book in author Tracy Carter’s exciting dog-themed series, the Veronica Kildare K-9 Mysteries, featuring the energetic dog handler and trainer, her talented Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Leda, and a host of amazing service and support dogs. With an engaging group of recurring characters, their dogs, and several diverse, interwoven storylines, Veronica’s latest adventure is action-packed from page one as she and Leda complete the first of many search and rescue missions.
Veronica Kildare is a young 30-something with a tragic past, a summary of which the author skillfully weaves into the current action. Although this is the third book in the series, the concise retelling of how Veronica came to be in Colorado, the owner of a successful dog training business and well-appointed facility, will provide readers new to the series with an excellent foundation to enjoy this one as a standalone. Veronica continues to suffer the emotional and physical aftereffects of what occurred in Ohio, leading to her relocation to the Rocky Mountains, but she is slowly coming to terms with her past, altered future, and the reality that she needs to move on and live the rest of her life. Her dedication to helping find persons lost or in trouble in the surrounding Colorado mountains has, in turn, helped her as well.
As previously mentioned, the plot takes off quickly with Veronica and Leda on the trail of a missing rock climber and with little pause they are called upon to assist in a new concern involving the suspected illegal dumping of hazardous waste that appears to be impacting a local river and the water source for a large natural area as well as downstream agri-businesses. When Leda discovers the semi-nude body of a young woman in the same location and the park ranger who initially asked for assistance is critically injured in a single-car accident that was no accident, Veronica, her father, Leda, Officer Tim Donovan, and a local investigative reporter dig in to find answers and determine if these diverse events are related.
The descriptions of the natural areas Veronica and Leda search are vividly drawn, and you can almost hear the insects, birds, and other wildlife or breathe the fresh mountain air as you read. The detailed recounting of the search and rescue missions puts you on the scene and is a highlight of the book, as are the descriptions of the dogs’ training sessions and their often amusing and clever antics.
I recommend SICK AS A DOG and the entire Veronica Kildare K-9 Mystery series to mystery readers, especially those who love working dogs and canine family members.