By Tycie Horsley | Development Director
Thank you for your continued support of the Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI)! Because of your generous donations, MLI's life-saving Mine Detection Dogs (MDDs) were able to "sniff out" more than 1,500 acres of mine-affected land in the past two years! One of these remarkable dogs, MDD Betsy, has been working in Bosnia and Herzegovina. MDD Betsy has been working with her handler, Alden Cesko, since 2009 at the Federal Administration of Civil Protection (FACP), which is doing great demining work in Bosnia with MLI's donated MDDs.
Alden and Betsy have formed an incredible bond over the past five years, as they work together daily to ensure that the people of Bosnia are safe from the deadly dangers of landmines. This year, FACP nominated Alden and Betsy for MLI's prestigious Mine Detection Dog Team of the Year Award, which is given to the top performing MDD team in the world. In their nomination for Alden and Betsy, the FACP stated that, “Alden Cesko is one of the most respected and trusted handlers in the Federal Administration of Civil Protection. On many occasions his professionalism, personal bravery, technical expertise, and attitude towards work have made the key difference on tasks in which he was engaged. But what is the most inspiring about Alden is the love that he shares with his dog, Betsy.
The trust and confidence that everybody at FACP has in this team regularly causes Alden and Betsy to engage in the most difficult demining tasks and in the most challenging situations in the field. For example, last year, during heavy forest fires, it was essential that fire trucks reach a town that was in danger of being completely engulfed by flames. With the fires blocking the roads into the town, the fire trucks' only other option was to gain access to the town through a nearby field that was known to be contaminated by landmines. In almost unbearable conditions Alden and Betsy led a search party that cleared the path through the minefield and enabled the fire trucks to reach the fires and save the town from destruction."
MDD Betsy and Alden have also performed heroic work during the past 9 months, following the catastrophic floods that hit Bosnia and Herzegovina in May 2014. In addition to the terrible damage directly inflicted by the floods, another major issue has been the number of landmines that were washed out of marked mine-fields and into new and unknown locations. Since the floods, landmines have been found in people's yards and in heavily populated areas that had previously been cleared of all mines. Working in very difficult conditions and wading through piles of debris left behind by the floods, MDD Betsy and Alden have been searching for mines and UXO in these new unmarked areas, where it is suspected that mines may have drifted with the flood water. They have located dozens of landmines in these searches, saving countless lives.
Together, MDD Betsy and Alden have searched more than 60 acres of mine-affected land in Bosnia and Herzegovina, enabling thousands of people to use their land safely without fear of landmines. Their hard work and dedication made MDD Betsy and Alden very deserving of MLI's 2014 Mine Detection Dog Team of the Year Award!
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