Red Cross honors Los Gatos Woman

That Crawford launched the highly successful For Kids' Sake dog bite prevention program is notable enough. But what's even more significant is the fact that Crawford created the program, which includes animated materials, presentations and lesson plans, based on her own dogs, Deputy Dakota, Trooper Tahoe and Sergeant Cheyenne. All three are American pit bull terriers.

 

Crawford devised the initiative in the mid-1990s, after rescuing Cheyenne. She enrolled the animal in schutzhund training, which encompasses sessions in obedience, tracking and protection. Cheyenne proved adept at the first two, but fell short in the latter. Seeing her pet struggle, Crawford conceived of a plan that was to prove life-changing for both of them.

 

"I was at a crossroads, trying to determine how to make my life have value," Crawford says. "I decided I would train Cheyenne to become a therapy dog, and also train her to save lives."

 

About the same time, Dakota joined the family. Crawford and her two dogs earned great visibility and respect in search and rescue (SAR) programs; so much so that Crawford was tapped to assist on such high-profile SAR cases as the space shuttle Columbia disaster, the search for Laci Peterson and the safe return of a lost Alzheimer's patient. But despite these successes in working with state and federal agencies, Crawford says she typically experienced mistrust (and worse) when people learned that her cherished pets were pit bulls.

 

"My dogs have visited thousands of children in hospitals, they've provided therapy for disabled and severely abused and depressed kids, and they've helped locate and rescue scores of adults. When someone's missing, my dogs are called. Yet when we're out in a park doing SAR exercises, I've had mothers grab their children and run away. It's heartbreaking how the media has painted the image of pit bull terriers," Crawford says.

 

Crawford adds that the negative stereotypes about pit bulls inaccurately depict their true personalities.

 

"They are incredibly devoted and loyal, and eager to please their owners. That's why dog fighters will exploit them, because they'll do anything the owner wants them to; they will not bite unless they're bred and trained to do so. They actually rank second or third in obedience, behind golden retrievers. That's why pit bull terriers are probably the most abused dogs in America now."

 

After the success of her For Kids' Sake project, Crawford lost the use of her right hand in a jet-skiing accident. But while sitting in a hospital waiting room, prior to one of her reconstructive surgeries, she saw a young boy who was waiting for facial reconstructive surgery following a severe bite by the family's Labrador.

 

"I knew then what I had to do," Crawford says. "I had been doing dog-bite prevention classes for the past 10 years, in the limited time when I wasn't at my job or at search and rescue training or missions. Now I could really focus on it."

Each year, she says, nearly 2.8 million children suffer dog bites. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that half of all children under the age of 12 have been bitten by a dog, resulting in injuries of varying severity. Dog bites are the second most frequent cause of emergency room visits for children, and some 79 percent of fatal dog attacks involve children. Half of all dog bites come from the family's own dog, and another 40 percent come from a friend's or neighbor's dog.

 

"But research shows that just one hour of dog safety training can reduce attacks by 80 percent," Crawford says. "As search and rescue dogs, my dogs can only save one child at a time. But now as Deputy Dakota, Trooper Tahoe and Sergeant Cheyenne, we can save an entire classroom."

 

When not espousing dog safety, Crawford also found time to launch the "Lost in the Woods--Hug a Tree" program, in which she uses her pit bulls to teach children how not to get lost in the wilderness. In her classes, kids also learn techniques for staying safe and getting found quicker if they do happen to stray off-course.

 

Additionally, Crawford created "Knock Out Dog Fighting," a program that has brought together world-champion mixed martial arts fighters to teach kids --particularly those in juvenile hall--that dog fighting is not a symbol of strength or power.

 

"Statistics show that most serial killers started their pattern of abuse as children, abusing animals. I believe that one of the most effective ways to stop the cycle of violence is to teach young people about the proper treatment of animals. This type of education can create a cycle of a different sort: a cycle of compassion," Crawford says.

 

Crawford and her dogs still work with disabled and abused children. Her For Pit's Sake program has been a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit since 1997, and depends on the community, as well as Crawford's own savings, for its financial support.

 

Leon Milburn, a Red Cross volunteer and Los Gatos resident who nominated Crawford for the "Hero" award, says her citation is more than justified.

"Kris is a neighbor of mine, and my wife Joann and I became aware of what she's done in the past, and what she's attempting to do at the current time," Milburn says. "We both admired her spirit and desire to educate people, and especially her taking the dogs to shut-ins. We were delighted when we heard she had won the award."

 

Milburn has seen firsthand the interaction between Crawford and her pit bulls, and says he has never witnessed any aggressive behavior on the part of the animals.

 

"Oh gosh no, they might lick you to death," he laughs. "But I've never seen any evidence of biting or anything like that. Kris believes any dog that bites should be put down."

 

He adds that Los Gatos-based philanthropists Mark and Barbara Beck were so impressed with Crawford's efforts that they donated the funds needed to purchase several tables for the awards presentation, making it possible for many friends of Crawford's to take part in her celebration.

More information about For Pit's Sake can be found at www.forpitssake.org. Details about Knock Out Dog Fighting are available at www.knockoutdogfighting.org."

 

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