In July of 2020, Mu began to have anxiety about going on cat searches. Although he has found over 300 lost cats in his 8 year career, we believe that the high number of cats taken by coyotes in the spring of 2020 began to take its toll on Mu’s enjoyment of his work. Mu is very sensitive, and it seems that he was affected by the grief of the owners who had lost their cats. For whatever reason, Mu began to display anxiety when we would get in the car to go on a search. We were forced to quit cat searches for a while. Since that time, Mu has continued to go to training sessions, which he has always enjoyed. Also, he has gone as a secondary dog on searches where Max was the main search dog. Max has been training for a year and a half, and he is obviously skilled at finding lost cats. Max is just starting out his career, gaining experience. It seems we have found a winning combination that works for everyone, Mu, Max, and the lost cats. For now, we will be teaming up on some searches, with Mu and Max sharing the load. While Mu is returning to work, he won’t be handling the heavy case load that he used to, instead only taking one or two searches a week. Also, as much as possible, I will be trying to shield Mu from as much sadness as I can. If we find remains of a cat that has been attacked, I will praise Mu for his good work, get him rewarded and settled in the car, and then proceed with the investigation of the remains, out of Mu’s sight. While I am willing to investigate those cases where the cat did not survive, I will try to protect Mu from the downside of the job as much as possible. We will see how it goes, and hopefully Mu can once again be an asset to the lost pet community, and continue his career. If you have a lost cat, I would be happy to discuss whether the team of Max and Mu might be able to help.