Worldwide Canine Wall of Fame

Crusader Resources

Russ Rathy rewards Jagger, an exceptional dog who is trained to find hidden bombs and explosives. Rathy says only one in 100 dogs can be trained specifically for this purpose.

Couple hopes town ready to go to dogs

Dog trainers learn from best, hope to have impact here

Angela Anderson

Times Reporter

Wednesday September 13, 2006 

Cochrane Times — Russ and Shaun Rathy rescue difficult, aggressive dogs and train them into gentle service dogs for handicapped children, or illegal substance and explosive detection dogs, to be used by high profile organizations south of the border.

The couple, who has recently moved to Cochrane, started out training regular dogs and horses for a living in their hometown of Pense, SK.
Now, their business has flourished, to include obedience training for difficult dogs, a dog rescue program, illegal substance and bomb detection, and even a drug awareness program.
"We've always loved dogs, and Shaun was training horses. But more than anything, we saw what was happening with crystal meth in our community and we wanted to stop it," Russ said.
Three years ago, the couple decided they wanted to try and help people of their small Saskatchewan community fight the war against drugs, and they knew how to do it.
"We were working and training, taking classes and seminars, and we never really had anything solid. We decided to track down who we thought was the best trainer in the world," he added.

That's when the couple found Rob Hawkins, of Worldwide Canine, located in Springbranch, TX.
Hawkins decided to take the Rathys under his wing and teach them everything he knew about training dogs for high profile searches, for things like illegal drugs and bombs, Russ recalled.
Worldwide Canine specializes in the training, utilization and purveyance of a variety of professional working dogs, including bomb dogs, drug dogs, and police dogs.
According to it's web site, the company is operated by Commissioned Texas Peace Officers and Certified Trainers / Instructors.
The company is registered with the Texas Dept. of Public Safety, State Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Dogs trained at Worldwide Canine often move on to jobs in the U.S. Department of Defence, as well as in police departments across the country, explained Russ.

After a year of commuting back and forth from Saskatchewan to Texas, the Rathys felt they had all the training they needed.
Now, three years later, they find themselves being contracted by Worldwide Canine to start the training process in dogs who will then be transported to Texas and then used in organizations across the country.
While the couple is passionate about their unique job, they cannot do it full time in Canada, as Canadian police departments use an internal canine program to train their pups.
For each dog to be trained, Shaun says, it's a challenge, because aside from good breeding, the right dog has to have certain qualities to make it fit for the job.
"Probably one in 100 dogs we see can be trained for this purpose," she said.
"We like it when the owner feels the dog is really crazy, really aggressive, because that's what motivates it," she said.
After determining whether the dog is ready for training, Russ said training could take anywhere from six weeks to six months.

Alis Vicona is one of the many dogs used by Russ and Shaun Rathy.  Alis is trained to seek out narcotics using techniques taught to them by a world class trainer.

But a successful career in training these special dogs wasn't enough for the Rathys.
The couple decided they were going to use their skills not only to train difficult dogs, but to contribute to the community.
They created Crusader Resources, which umbrellas all their initiatives, including the dog rescue, specialized training, and contracted drug detection services.
"There are probably not many people right now who have the resources to do this," Russ said. "If we don’t do something, we feel that we’re almost contributing to the problem. It's all part of trying to be a productive member of society, be part of the solution not the problem."
Using the dogs who are well trained in drug detection, the Rathys offer their services out to employers, schools and families.
"We want to help parents, help kids, help schools," Russ said.
While living in Saskatchewan, the Rathys contracted out their dogs for school searches, resulting in finding narcotics in lockers, and out to families, if drugs are suspected at home.
"Our intent is not a negative one, it is to catch the problem before it becomes a problem," Russ said. "We talk about early drug prevention, this is the earliest prevention."
The couple hopes to continue their unique programs in Cochrane and in surrounding communities.
"For a place like Cochrane, with a little support from the community, we could send a message to all the drug dealers in Alberta, saying 'we won't have drugs in our town,'” Russ said.