Every dog in use by the Butte County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team took advantage of the training, but dogs from Oregon, Florida and Connecticut were also here.

The attraction was a seminar in Chico presented by Andy Redmond of Kent, Wash., considered to be one of the best search and rescue dog trainers in the country. He couldn't be reached Wednesday for comment.

Butte County handler Lana Gunn participated Wednesday in training called scent-based urban trailing.

Her bloodhound Bentley was allowed to sniff a piece of gauze that had been rubbed over the skin of a woman the dog was tasked with finding in downtown Chico.

Bentley picked up the scent on Wall Street near West Second Street, then tracked the woman to City Plaza, where he found her sitting on a bench.

A dog from Oregon, a diminutive Pomeranian-papillon named Puffin, tracked a man to City Plaza under the same circumstances.

Handler Catherine Schneider, in Chico from Bandon, Ore., said Puffin is the smallest search dog registered in Oregon, but has proved to be an accomplished tracker.

While helping to search for a man believed to have drowned in the Umpqua River earlier this year, Schneider said Puffin alerted on a snag in the swift current.

The alert led to finding the victim's fishing vest, submerged underwater.

A second dog working the other side of the river then found the victim's body about a hundred yards downstream.

Both Bentley and Puffin are also cross-trained as cadaver dogs.

ARTICLE FROM CHICOER.COM GREG WELTER