Kaye Hall loves the outdoors and loves dogs, so volunteer work with a search and rescue trailing companion is a perfect fit. Kaye and her Belgian Sheepdog, Julot are certified by the California Rescue Dog Association to respond to rescue calls for missing persons statewide; and are also part of the Napa 
County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team. Even after certification as volunteers– the time , training, money and equipment to keep her and Julot’s skills and physical conditions mission ready is Kaye’s responsibility. Her background of teaching the sport of tracking and judging the sport for the American Kennel Club was useful in preparing her for the serious life and death searches in which she and Julot now assist.
Kaye has presented demonstrations in the Napa schools on outdoor safety. These experiences made her realize something else that puts persons at further risk—fear and fatigue. She developed the acronym S.A.F.E.R. to help children remember even when tired or afraid. Her picture book, Stop and Stay Put: A SAFER Adventure Story, highlights that acronym. The accompanying CD helps imprint the book’s key concepts on its readers and listeners. It is written as a “fun read” that children will return to over and over.”
Many breeds of dogs are used in search work. Julot, Kaye’s mission ready trailing dog is a Belgian Sheepdog. He has been training with Kaye and her team since he was ten weeks old and became certified to be deployed on search missions just before he was two years old. He has “found” over 150 different people during his training exercises which have included locating persons driving cars, persons wading upstream in water so deep he had to swim while scenting, working both “fresh” problems and problems up to six days old. He loves to dance. He also loves the attention in parades and demonstrations. Once strapped into a helicopter, he loves flying and peering out the open door. Julot has also attained that most prestigious American Kennel Club performance title “Champion Tracker.”
