The dogs we said goodbye to

Safe travels, Ama! 🖤

Our team is poorer and sadder for it.

Ama wasn't just a mantrailing dog. She was a pioneer. A dog who showed, through every training session and every mission, what a passion for searching means and how far an extraordinary nose can go when it is put in the service of people.

She helped open the way for mantrailing in Romania and inspired other handlers and search dogs. Her contribution to saving lives is a certainty that makes the loss even harder to bear.

Over the years she impressed everyone with her determination, intelligence, and character. She was present at training sessions, missions, demonstrations, and projects that brought this discipline into the public eye and inspired more and more people to get involved.

Ama left us far too soon. But the impact she had on our community will last forever. Her legacy lives on in every team that keeps training, in every dog that sets out on the trail of a missing person, and in every life that will be saved because of the path she opened.

Our thoughts are with her family and with everyone who knew and loved her.

Fly free, Ama! We will never forget you. ❤️🐾

This week we lost another soul! Our giant, Rocky, devoted his whole life to serving people. For almost 12 years he stood by Grațian's side through training sessions, training camps, demonstrations, and missions. He was the hero of a man who owes his life to his serious, hardworking nose. Day after day, he was both a search and rescue dog and a family dog, a professional and a dear friend! Fly free, dear Rocky!

Last week Eda left us — our blonde girl, always cheerful and good-humoured. She was "picked up" off the streets by Simona when she was about a year old. No one was looking for her, so she started looking herself. She had already found Simona, and wanted to go on finding more lost people. She starred in countless demonstrations, camps, and training sessions, and was always among our top PR dogs, happily accepting every pat and kiss from the people who came to visit us. Fly free, Eda! Smile down on us from up there!

Diamond 2011-2024

They might just be a name and a couple of numbers. For our team, though, they mean we are saying goodbye to Diamond, the dog who was Grațian's partner for 13 years.

First of all, he was the dog loved by the whole family. Then, he was the brave, serious dog who, together with Grațian, devoted his life to searching for missing persons. He took part in hundreds of training sessions, dozens of missions, dozens of exercises and exams. He was always at the top of his game, and we were always proud of him. He even started a small "dynasty" of rescuers. Dino, Zura, and Jimmy are his pups and "grandpups," who carry his work forward with the dedication they inherited from him.

Now, as he leaves for up there, he joins our ever-growing team of angels, growing larger with each passing year. We're left with the memories of his 13 years of life, and he will live forever in our hearts! Fly free, Diamond!

It's strange to write a post we don't want to write, but for which the words come like a powerful mountain river — full of turmoil, love, respect, and, most of all, longing!

Our dear Amir is gone! A dog who, alongside Fulga and Raul, devoted his whole life to loving and saving people! Although he began training as a young pup, no one could have predicted the extraordinary achievements he would go on to reach. He was a true German Shepherd: brave, versatile, loving, tenacious, and tireless. His drive to stay active only faded now, after more than 11 years. Over the years, he was a constant presence on search missions, amazed us in training, and drew admiration at every demonstration and activity he took part in, always with great dedication. He climbed onto competition podiums too, but above all, he climbed into our hearts as a dog who always gave everything, without reservation and without excuses!

Fly free, Amir, all the way up there, where we know another incredible life awaits you alongside your beloved friends!

Yesterday was a strange day. It began as a celebration, only for us to then learn that it was the day we would say goodbye to Aka, our zen dog. Together with Raul, she was part of the engine that has driven CST since its very first day. She took part in hundreds of training sessions, exams, tests, and exercises, as well as many search missions. She earned our admiration for her perseverance and her eagerness to work. She made us proud every time she represented us. She stood on competition podiums, and won the hearts of the public at every event where she took part in demonstrations. We had her by our side for 12 years, and now she has left us just as "zen" as she was the whole time. Fly free, our dear Aka!

In the life of a handler with a search dog, there are many difficult moments in training, in missions, in exams — but the passion and the dog help you keep going. It feels like the world collapses when you lose your dog. Today our colleague Diana lost Modjo, the dog she worked alongside for ten years to help people who were lost. They grew together, built together, broke things together, shone together, suffered together, and rejoiced together. Today a team member has passed — a dog who was present at every event we organised and who always impressed everyone with his presence. We are certain he will be admired up there too, just as he was here. Safe travels, our dear Modjo!

They say the greatest joy a dog gives you is that he makes you act silly together with him — and not only does he not scold you for it, he plays along and acts silly right back. Morris was the dog who always brought a smile to our faces with his playful personality, and to Simona's too, the woman he was training alongside to save lives. He leaves us today, leaving behind beautiful memories. With sorrow in our hearts, we wish you safe travels, dear friend…

Becks was a force, a joy, a heart! A brave and talented dog. We admired him and delighted in his eagerness to work at every training session. We were proud of him at every obedience demonstration, and wherever he went, he drew every eye. Together with Relu, he was training to save lives. He had an incredible strength and drive that nothing could hold back.

We will certainly never forget him.

Safe travels, Becks!

Fedor, the most decorated dog in CST, has left us, leaving a void not only in the hearts of Oana and Călin, but in the hearts of everyone who ever had the chance to work alongside him: CST members, trainers, and dog enthusiasts alike.

Fedor excelled in several areas: he started out in protection sports, where he held an IPO 2 title, was named "Dog of the Year 2006" at the National Border Police Dog Training Championship, and was an outstanding search and rescue dog. He earned level B certifications in both area search and rubble search, and a level A certification in avalanche search. In 2006 he was AChR National Champion in rubble search and rescue, and in 2007 he was a member of Romania's team at the 2007 World Championship for Rescue Dogs, Austria.

But beyond his achievements in exams, Fedor took part in 10 search-and-rescue missions alongside Oana and Călin. For him, seeing people getting ready to leave meant he was about to set off on a search with them, and the car was one of his favourite places, precisely because he associated it with going to work. Whether it was search training, obedience, or guard work, he did it all with the same great enthusiasm, and he especially loved the company of children and activities involving them — not least because he saw them as a good source of rewards.

Fedor left his mark on everyone who knew him, and beyond the achievements, awards and praise, by far his most important accomplishment remains the fact that in 2012 he saved a man's life.

We will certainly never forget our beloved Fedor, and we thank him for everything he taught us.

We want to remember Inata together with you. It's always hard to say goodbye to a member of the family, and that is what Inata was to our team — the words don't come easily to us either.

Over the 7 years she was by his side, Inata was a friend to Tibi, a trusted companion, a partner in both work and play. Not least, she was one of the most experienced search dogs in Romania, taking part with Tibi, alongside our fellow mountain rescue colleagues and alongside us, in dozens of search-and-rescue operations.

She proved her qualities through the results she achieved in the specialty exams she took part in:

• 1st place (area search, level A – RH-FL A) at the International Rescue Dog Test, Ebreichsdorf, Austria, 2014;
• certified in area search, level A – RH-FL A;
• certified in avalanche search, level A – RH-L A, at an IRO international exam, Italy, 2012;
• M.A.I. certification for search in natural environments.

Through her cheerful, even-tempered nature, she was a key member of every community outreach event we organised, joining us at demonstrations and interacting with the public, especially with children.

The fact that she is no longer with us leaves a huge void in our hearts.

The CST team