[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 11, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO SUE PURVIS AND TASHA THE SEARCH DOG

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                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2003

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute today to a 
woman and her dog who willingly give their time to provide assistance 
to others. Sue Purvis and her search dog Tasha of Crested Butte, 
Colorado volunteer to help locate victims of avalanches. In doing so, 
they help bring closure to victims' families and perform a public 
service to their community.
  During one week in March of this year, Sue and Tasha were called to 
the scene of two avalanches. The first trapped a 33-year-old man who 
had been caught in a slide while snowmobiling. Some 30 rescuers 
searched unsuccessfully for several hours before calling in Sue and 
Tasha. Together, working with another canine search team, they found 
the man's body within half an hour.
  A few days later, the pair received a call involving another 
snowmobiler. This time, the victim triggered a massive slide 10-feet 
deep and several hundred feet wide. The slide packed so much power that 
the debris field was 20 feet deep and contained chunks of snow and ice 
the size of a van. Despite working by themselves, Sue and Tasha found 
the man's body buried in six feet of snow about an hour later.
  Mr. Speaker, when Sue and Tasha venture off into the Colorado 
backcountry to search for victims, they often enter very unstable and 
dangerous snow conditions. Still, they do so willingly to help bring 
closure to the victim's families as quickly as possible. That unselfish 
spirit of neighbor-helping-neighbor is what helped make this country 
great, and I am truly honored to have the opportunity to honor Sue and 
her amazing search dog Tasha here before this body of Congress today.




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