I came into the world of K9 search and rescue suddenly and naively, with a vision of wanting to help improve the world in some way. It’s the morning of September 11, 2001, and the phone rings. To my surprise, it’s my big brother who calls all the way from Stockholm. I start exchanging news, but he interrupts loudly. “Suzanne, listen to me. You have to turn on your TV, now! His voice is becoming increasingly tense and he sounds anxious. My TV starts just as images show the second Twin Tower collapsing. At that moment, my life changes forever.

I did not know that the attack on my adopted country on that terrible day would be the catalyst leading to a several decades long career as a professional search and rescue K9 volunteer. 9-11 was the event that made me seriously explore my purpose in life. A month after my brother’s call, with the leash of my first search dog “Bosse” in hand, and high hopes in my heart, my 20-year journey began – an uneven road with high highs and low lows, but on the whole so much worth the personal and physical costs.

I was born and raised in Sweden. Who I am today was shaped by growing up in a culture with strong links to nature characterized by berry picking, mushroom hunting, cross-country skiing and picking wildflowers. My early interest in conflict management and community building led to a graduate scholarship at the University of California, Santa Barbara. After graduating, I moved to Seattle with my husband Scott. The Pacific Northwest had everything we wanted. Wilderness, mountains, water and skiing. Life was good and my career took off in leadership roles with responsibility for driving human resources and organizational development in different companies. Years later, with a new career as the founder of an executive coaching practice well underway, I began to explore various opportunities as a volunteer. I wanted to find a new and meaningful way to give back to my community. I felt something was missing and when 9-11 happened, I was already actively pursuing questions such as: What do I want my legacy to be? What’s my WHY? And what do I want to be known for?

The attack on the United States was just the catalyst I needed to get everything in clear focus. When seeing disaster dog teams working the 9-11 scene on TV ideas started swirling in my head: dog search and mountain rescue service, disasters, finding lost people in the wilderness. Why hadn’t I seen this before? The pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly together. I was pleased to discover that Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue (SCVSAR) had a small dog team. And Scott was already involved with Everett Mountain Rescue, a sister organization for SCVSAR that specializes in mountain rescue. We would now have a new common avocation allowing us to experience more of Washington’s wilderness together. I had found my WHY.

Through sheer determination Labrador Retriever Bosse and I succeeded in becoming a certified wilderness airscent team and enjoyed thirteen years of deploying on missions together. As he was approaching retirement, I found my second Labrador Retriever search dog  Keb. As a puppy, Keb had infinite energy, was fearless and willing to take on everything she was asked to do at full speed. She was an eager, fast learner! Within a few years, we had certified in several search disciplines, including Airscent, Human Remains Detection, Avalanche and First Responder Disaster.

Keb and I have gone on well over a hundred missions together. We have found victims in mud in a catastrophic landslide (The OSO Landslide) in which 43 people died. We’ve been looking for missing hikers on high snowfields on Mount Rainier and found human bones that helped solve decades-old crimes. We’ve been searching for clandestine graves of murder victims. We have searched in the dark, in rain, in snow and cold in the rain forests and rugged mountains of the northwestern United States. We’ve searched urban areas with homeless camps, drug needles and thick blackberry bushes. For six years, Keb and I have also traveled to Sweden and trained with K9 SAR teams in southern Sweden and Denmark .  One year we found a skull that solved a case of a man who had been missing for almost two years.

Everything changed for me that fateful day when our country was attacked twenty years ago. Today, as the September 11 anniversary is hours away, my search and rescue colleague and friend Guy Mansfield and I found out that the book manuscript we have been working on for four years has a publisher. The book is about Keb, me, Guy, and how we overcome inner demons, face strife, human weakness, grow as people and develop as volunteers to search for those who are missing. It’s the story of my loyal dog partner Keb, whose determination, sharp nose and willing spirit lead us every step of the way. It is a story of faith, passion, and trying to make a meaningful contribution to the world. But above all, it is a story of the search for the living and the dead – using hard-earned skills to find what is left of lost souls, to seek justice and always to bring them home. Tomorrow it is our tribute to the anniversary of 9-11.