Our Valley

Fantastic Beasts Of

May 26, 2018

OurValley

Best of the Valley results on page 16.

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Saturday, May 26, 2018

OUR VALLEY

OurValley 2018 Best Of The Valley Pages 16-27 Editor’s Note ...........................................................3 Horses Helping Heal...............................................4 Getting Wildlife Back In The Wild............................5 Happy As A Pig.......................................................7 Paging Dr. Pup.........................................................10 Valley Camels Spotted..........................................12 Best Of The Valley ..............................................16 — Chef Takes Honors..... .......................................18 — Best Sandwiches Found Downtown..................20 — New Categories, New Winners.........................22 Dogs To The Rescue...............................................28 Hunting From The Air.............................................30

Harrisonburg, Va.

OUR VALLEY

Harrisonburg, Va.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

3

More Than Just A One-Trick Pony

T

he Shenandoah Valley, long known for agriculture and livestock typically found on farms — especially dairy and beef cattle and, of course, poultry — also is home to a number of somewhat more exotic breeds.

Many animals provide valuable service to their human companions, such as mules and horses that deliver therapy to people suffering from post-traumatic stress or other maladies or dogs that can sniff out when someone is in need of medical care.

Others though, provide Valley folks a more sublime service just by being around.

From camels a Rockingham County traveler might come across, to a mini-pig that warms the hearts of all he encounters, to birds of prey and other wildlife that teach important lessons, the region is certainly a setting for truly fantastic beasts.

Rosalie, a red-tailed hawk that can’t be released into the wild because of a hip injury, stays at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro.

The center uses Rosalie and other animals in various education programs.

Vic Bradshaw / DN-R

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Saturday, May 26, 2018

Riding To Recovery

By ELLIE POTTER Daily News-Record

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY — Watching Josh Breeden confidently ride a 22-year-old mule around the ring, one may never suspect the trauma he’s experienced and the progress he’s made in the last five months.

Breeden, 26, of Harrisonburg, spends most of his weekends riding Dante around Breaking Free, an equine-assisted learning facility that uses horses as a therapy tool just west of Broadway. The 50-acre facility employs horses to help people cope with trauma, anger issues and anxiety, especially children and depressed veterans.

Breeden spent seven years in the Army, leaving in early 2007 as a corporal. While in the military, he served two tours in the Middle East, stationed in Bahrain and Qatar.

He served with air defense units and helped with medical evacuations coming from Afghanistan in the surgical center in Qatar, he said. Once a medic was injured in Bahrain, Breeden said, he was transferred there to help with evacuations.

He began the program at Breaking Free about five months ago.

During his first few sessions, he

was shy and unmotivated, Breaking Free owners Jenny, 68, and Paul Foltz, 67, said. Now, Breeden’s one of the few in the program who ride.

The program is not meant to encourage veterans or other people to ride the horse, but rather to interact with them from the ground: brushing, walking and talking to them. A few do decide to ride.

“You can just see people completely turn around,” Jenny Foltz said. “Horses mirror people, and if the people can get to see that, I think that helps them a lot. I think just being around a horse is calming to people.”

Though he’s worked with horses in similar programs in the past, the mule has more spunk, Breeden said, but also is more patient with him.

“It’s been a real pleasure to work with him,” Breeden said. “It almost sounds strange to say that a mule is helping you a lot. … It’s not like riding a bike or something.

He has a mind of his own. It’s just a nice connection.”

When he first began coming to Breaking Free, Breeden was on edge and more focused on his surroundings than the task at hand.

But working with a 1,000-pound animal forced him to concentrate on what was going on in the moment.

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Equine-Assisted Learning Facility Uses Horses As Therapy Tool

Ellie Potter / DN-R

Army veteran Josh Breeden, 26, of Harrisonburg, rides Dante, a 22-year-old-mule, at Breaking Free. The 50-acre facility west of Broadway also employs horses to help people cope with trauma, anger issues and anxiety, especially depressed veterans and children.

Coming off a good session with Dante, Breeden said, he’s also better equipped to handle bad news or other stressors, equating the feeling he gets riding to a runner’s high.

“He’s helped me a lot,” Breeden said, “better than a lot of the medicine and other programs I’ve been through.”

Jenny Foltz said they had a female veteran come out who

had a terrible stutter. Even with speech therapy, she struggled to communicate. After a few sessions rubbing and talking to a See RECOVERY, Page 6

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Harrisonburg, Va.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

5

Center Offers New Lease On Life

By VIC BRADSHAW Daily News-Record

WAYNESBORO — When the Wildlife Center of Virginia comes to town, its animal educators tend to draw a crowd.

The wild animal hospital and rehabilitation center located outside Waynesboro has visited Harrisonburg’s Explore More Discovery Museum three straight years, according to Melanie Veith, program manager for the children’s science museum. It’s never been in the same place twice.

“We’ve had to move the space every year,” she said, “because every year we’ve had to accommodate more people. This year, we had to do it on the third floor, our big, open community space. I think almost 200 people came this last time.”

Since it was founded in 1982, more than 75,000 animals have passed through the center’s doors. More than 2,700 were admitted last year alone.

Most were injured or ill, but many orphaned young animals are brought in, too.

Vic Bradshaw / DN-R

Amanda Nicholson, director of outreach for the Wildlife Center of Virginia, holds Oscar, a hognosed snake, during a workshop on sketching snakes at the center.

other locations help educate the public about the animals that live around them.

“Our educational animals certainly allow us to put a face on some of the issues that our wildlife in Virginia experience every day,” she said. “Animals that have been hit by a car allow us to talk about that, make that experience more personal.

“When people really get to meet one that’s been through that and recovered, it tends to make that more of a meaningful experience.”

She added that most people are interested to get a close-up view of animals they typically see from afar, if they’ve seen them at all.

“Many people don’t get to see a red-tailed hawk up close, much less a peregrine falcon or a bald eagle,” Nicholson said. “This gets them interested in wildlife and ways we can help them.”

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OUR VALLEY

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Harrisonburg, Va.

Clinical Social Worker: ‘Controlling A Horse Is About Controlling Yourself’ Recovery

FROM PAGE 4

horse, Foltz said, she was able to speak clearly again.

Others take the full 12 sessions before they see any progress, Paul Foltz said.

Breaking Free uses the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association model, which incorporates an equine expert, therapist and the horse in the therapy session, said Sara Babb, a Virginia EAGALA networking group coordinator.

While some equine therapy practices focus on physical improvement, EAGALA concentrates on mental health.

Working with the horse from the ground also creates a balanced power dynamic, Babb said, which changes when a person rides the animal. Rather than focusing on where the horse is going

from their back, people can see concentrate on what’s going on in their own minds from the ground, she said.

“This works with people just like they would be working in the office on certain topics,” Babb said.

Trish Lynch, a licensed clinical social worker who volunteers at Breaking Free, said people cannot rely on “brute strength, intimidation or fear,” to control a horse.

“Controlling a horse is about controlling yourself,” she said, “learning to check your emotions and build up your confidence and your sense of presence and strength and conveying that to the horse. … You can’t lie to a horse.”

Lynch has veterans work through exercises with their horse, watching how they navigate and respond to

different challenges. After they complete the task, she debriefs with them, helping them identify some of the emotions they may be struggling with.

The animals are also sensitive and intuitive, she said. She’s seen “spirited” horses turn “totally docile and calm and almost in a Zen space” when they meet some depressed or anxious veterans.

She thinks horses are a good tool for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, a mental health condition people may develop after a life-threatening or severely distressing event. Because horses are prey and herd animals, Lynch said, they seem to understand hypervigilance.

One of her favorite things about Breaking Free’s model is that it requires less talking and more doing, she said. People suffering from PTSD struggle to talk about what they’ve seen, she said, but the horse can help them work through it.

Ellie Potter / DN-R

Paul Foltz, 67, co-owner of Breaking Free, holds Blossom as Josh Breeden, 26, of Harrisonburg, moves a tarp.

“It’s like the horse helps them tell their story through metaphor,” Lynch said.

“That happens quite a bit.”

Judith Key, 38, of Harrisonburg, who left the Army as a specialist seven years ago after more than four

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years in the service, has been attending sessions at Breaking Free for nearly two years. When she first came to the facility, Blossom, a 12-year-old quarter horse, was the only one to approach her, demanding attention.

“She put her head up against me,” Key said, “and then she had her ear right near my hand and said, ‘Scratch it.’”

Key sometimes has flashbacks to her time in the military, part of which she spent in Mosul, Iraq, always fearing gunfire and explo-

sions. She no longer drives as a result, having stopped her car in the middle of the road during one flashback.

After three years of practice, she’s working toward being able to walk across James Madison University’s campus among students without having an anxiety attack.

She has Blossom to thank for much of that progress.

“I think she more adopted me than I adopted her,” Key said.

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A Slice Of Hog Heaven Valley Porker Brings Joy Wherever He Goes

By VIC BRADSHAW Daily News-Record

HARRISONBURG — Laurie Damron’s life was changed forever in October 2016 when a local farmer brought a sickly piglet to her veterinary assistant class at Massanutten Technical Center.

That set off a chain of events that led to her falling whole-hog in love with swine.

“I haven’t bought a shirt,” she admitted, “that didn’t say something about ‘Pig Mom’ in the last year. I’m kind of eaten up.”

The apple of her eye now is Gannicus, aka “Ganny,” her 18-month-old mini-pig. He’s with her just about everywhere she goes, including on vacation.

The porker, whom she affectionately calls her “son,” has turned heads in Georgia, Tennessee and a couple of Florida cities.

“We travel, and he has a stroller,” said Damron, “and we put him in the stroller and people just come up and he poses like he’s a superstar.”

He’s mainly a pet, but Damron said she’d like to train him to be a therapy animal. When people are drawn to him, she also takes the opportunity to explain the plight of the pig in the industrial food chain.

“Putting the mommas in a crate, not letting them move, not letting them get up, and just have them nurse piglets and not get up and bred and nurse and bred and nurse,” she lamented.

Mary Margaret Callahan is the senior national director for programs for Pet Partners, a Bellevue, Wash., organization that registers nine species of therapy animals.

While the vast majority — 94 percent — are dogs, she said other species, including mini-pigs, have been very successful.

“They’re known to be ex-

Gannicus the mini-pig takes a treat at Massanutten Technical Center.

Vic Bradshaw / DN-R

tremely smart,” Callahan said.

“And they’re certainly novel.”

Pig No. 2 Damron, who co-owns the boarding, day care and grooming facility All About Paws, said she’d heard of people that kept full-sized pigs and thought they were crazy until one entered her life.

It was the little one the farmer brought to MTC in late 2016.

He was so sick that she questioned whether he’d live.

Her students named him Spartacus because they wanted him to have a warrior’s name in hopes that it would give him strength.

Damron took him to Ashby Animal Clinic, run by her kennel business partners. They got Spartacus through the worst of it, and he was returned to MTC, where the students helped nurse him back to health.

“He was so social,” she said.

“He would just come out and be the center of attention.”

Spartacus grew to be 95 pounds before he died in January 2017 of a heart attack, a fate Damron attributed to the difficult start of his life.

By that time, she was hooked.

The following month she found Gannicus on a rescue website, drove to Tennessee to pick him up, and was convinced to bring back his brother, too, because they were so close.

“The only animal I’ve ever known him not to like was his brother, even though rescue said they were so bonded,” said Damron, 44. “They fought like cats and dogs.”

The two brothers would have suffered a horrid fate if Esther’s Army of Love hadn’t rescued them from a flea market in Tennessee. Damron said some independent pork farmers in the

region feed young mini-pigs to the animals they’re raising for slaughter because they believe it makes the meat taste better.

She dubbed her porcine pet Gannicus after a soldier in Spartacus’ army. His brother was named Crixus, another soldier, and student Amy Conley wound up taking him to her Rockingham County home.

The pigs have taught the students a thing or two.

“I learned that they’re actually really clean animals,” said Maggie Bell of Bridgewater. “I’ve always known them as super dirty.”

When asked what animal they’d compare a pig to, Heidy Salgado was quick to answer.

“Definitely a dog!” she declared.

‘Life Of The Party’ The dog comparisons are apt.

Gannicus will sit at the door

if it’s time to go potty and his humans don’t realize it. He sits on command for vegan treats. When they take him out in public, he’s on a leash or in a stroller.

Among mini-pigs, Ganny is a Juliana because he’s spotted.

A 1993 Turner Ashby High graduate, Damron lives near New Hope in Augusta County with her husband, Don. Gannicus sits on the couch with them when they watch television at night and will sit and watch it solo if they’re not on the sofa by 8:30 p.m. or so, and he sleeps in their bed.

“He’s our son,” she asserted.

“He’s every aspect of our son.”

This boar is no bore. Damron said Gannicus perks up when people want to take his picture.

On his first birthday last December, they invited 30 people to help them celebrate and had See PIG, Page 13

8

OUR VALLEY

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Harrisonburg, Va.

Exhibits Provide Learning Experiences Wildlife

FROM PAGE 5

center, said Nicholson, is that they were hit by a car. Cat attacks are a common reason, too.

Healthy animals, often youngsters whose mother or father has been killed, are farmed out to at-home wildlife rehabilitators.

When possible, Nicholson said, the animals are returned to the wild, often to the area they came from. That’s particularly vital for reptiles, such as snakes and turtles, because they don’t travel very much during their lifetimes.

Some animals arrive so seriously injured that they must be euthanized, she said. About one-third can be released, and some that can’t are sent to other wildlife centers.

The chosen few wind up becoming the faces of the wildlife center.

“Becoming an education ambassador is a steep learning curve,” Nicholson said.

“Not every animal that comes through the doors is going to be suited to a life in captivity.

“We want them to be able to live with-

out stress and adapt to humans and be able to go out on programs. It’s kind of an elite few that join the team.”

Those that make the cut, she said, help wildlife center staffers put on about 250 programs a year both on- and off-site.

A big part of the programs is making people aware of the nature of the animal they’re seeing.

“We’re very careful when we’re interacting with them and presenting them to the public to make sure they know that these are not pets. They are wild animals,” Nicholson said. “We see them as members of our team and our family. We get attached to them and grow to have these relationships with them. It’s a very special role they fill.”

Explore More had the wildlife center bring nocturnal animals for its first visit and birds of prey in 2017, Veith said. This year, two snakes were the focal point of the presentation.

DN-R File The living exhibits, she said, provide Virginia Wildlife Center education animal, Gus, a barred owl, and outreach coordinator Alex Wehrung important learning experiences.

“For us, it’s really about helping children teach an audience about owls at Rocking R Ace Hardware in March. The Waynesboro center uses living exhibits with the goal of helping people understand nature and the role of animals in See WILDLIFE, Page 9 our ecosystem.

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Center Obtains Grants, Donations For The $1M Needed To Operate Each Year Wildlife

FROM PAGE 8

understand nature and understand the importance of animals in our ecosystem and how to care for them and keep them safe,” Veith said. “We want them to understand that they’re almost as important a part of our ecosystem as we are.

“Take the snakes. We want them to see snakes as our friends and not necessarily enemies.”

Strike A Pose They also can be models.

At least that’s what Oscar, a hognose snake, and Malcolm, a corn snake, did on the first Saturday in May. They spent a good part of the afternoon being handled by Nicholson at the center so seven artists from as far away as Roanoke and Newport News

could see them up close Nicholson said, allow the and learn best practices in center to build new relationcapturing them on paper or ships. canvas.

“They were a little bit It was the fifth paint- different crowd for us,” she ing workshop the said, “to meet wildlife center has artists that want offered, Nicholson “[Children] just to paint wildlife said. Birds were sit, enthralled. but don’t get the the models first As soon as she chance to see four times. them in person. brings those The artists They get an upanimals out, were encouraged close view of these to use bright, they’re just like animals.” close-up photos The center, glued.” displayed on a which obtains — MELANIE VEITH grants and colmonitor at the EXPLORE MORE lects donations to front of the room DISCOVERY MUSEUM get the $1 million as their guide. Oscar and Malcolm, it takes to operboth unwanted ate each year, repets turned in to the center, ceives some money from the were a bit too active to strike classes because instructor and hold the perfect pose, Amy Shawley donates to the but their presence allowed wildlife center half the fee the artists to see them from she collects from each parjust a few feet away. ticipant. Nicholson said cenThe art experiences, ter officials also hope artists

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What animal captivates people depends on the person, she said. Birds of prey are popular, but some people fancy the snakes. Children are partial to opossums.

Veith said Explore More likes to have events that can provide learnings experiences for children from 18 months to 14 years old.

When it comes to the wild-

life, parents often have as many questions as the children.

The region is fortunate, she said, to have a facility like the Wildlife Center of Virginia nearby so it can provide programs for local organizations.

“I think the No. 1 thing for children is the chance to see animals up close that they normally wouldn’t get to see,” Veith said. “Not

many of us have seen an owl within 5 feet of us.

“I don’t think the kids realize that they’re getting an education until they’re here. They just sit, enthralled. As soon as she brings those animals out, they’re just like glued.”

Contact Vic Bradshaw at 574-6279 or vbradshaw@dnronline.com

10

OUR VALLEY

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Harrisonburg, Va.

Dr. Dog Will See You Now Canine Companions Help Owners Avoid Medical Crises

By NOLAN STOUT Daily News-Record

SHENANDOAH — A few years ago, Morgan Raynes no longer knew when something was wrong.

The 19-year-old Shenandoah resident has Type I diabetes and doesn’t notice changes in her blood sugar.

“I stopped feeling symptoms and it would lead to really low lows and really high highs that I just couldn’t sense,” she said.

Without being aware of the changes, Morgan would frequently be taken to the hospital when her levels were dangerous.

Her mother, Amy, quickly sought help. That’s where 5-yearold Vixen comes in. She’s an American lab and a diabetes alert service dog.

The dog has since saved Morgan’s life at least four times and kept her out of the hospital countless times.

Service dogs like Vixen are used

to assist in the management of certain diseases or disabilities.

Charlottesville-based Service Dogs of Virginia trains and provides dogs to help with autism, diabetes, physical disabilities and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Sally Day, the organization’s director of development, said the dogs are trained for up to two years and provided at little cost to applicants. The nonprofit places between nine and 12 dogs throughout the state each year.

Applicants are charged a $50 to request a dog. If they are selected, the applicant is charged $1,000 for “transfer camp,” Day said, which covers two weeks of training and a supply kit. The organization doesn’t pass on the cost to train the dogs, Day said, because people who need the animals already have other bills to pay.

The camp teaches people how to travel in public with the canine See DR. DOG, Page 11

Daniel Lin / DN-R

Morgan Raynes, 19, of Shenandoah, sits on her porch with her diabetes alert service dog, Vixen. Vixen alerts Raynes when her blood sugar drops dangerously low, saving her life and helping her avoid hospital visits.

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Identify Blood Sugar Levels By Smell Dr. Dog

FROM PAGE 10

and learn its cues.

“The dog has learned everything,” she said, “but the client has not.”

At the end of training, the owner must take a public access test. Within the next year, they take the test twice and then once each subsequent year. The testing allows the organization to make sure the owner is treating the dog correctly.

The exam also makes sure the canine is behaving because, despite extensive training, it’s still a dog.

“We call them toddlers with superpowers,” Day said.

Each dog has a different mission, depending on the service it provides.

Diabetes Diabetes alert dogs serve people who are Type I diabetic and hypoglycemic unaware, meaning they don’t notice when their blood sugar level is dropping.

To a dog, blood with

high or normal sugar levels of the dog’s primary jobs is smells sweet, while the low to keep them from running sugar blood smells bitter, away when they reach elementary school age. Day Morgan Raynes said.

“She’ll put her paw on my said the dogs can be tethknee and that’ll tell me that ered to the child making it something’s wrong and I harder to run away.

“When [children] get need to go ahead and check,” to be 4 and 5, if she said. they [run away] Amy Raynes “The stress because of stress, said the dog has you no longer helped the fambetween the feel that you can ily numerous parent and keep them safe in times. For example, sometimes [autistic] child is public.” Day said. ... decreased “The goal is, over the family would think Morgan’s because the dog time, that you blood sugar was is the one saying, can back off from the tethering berising, but Vixen ‘Hey, let’s cause as the relaalerted that it was redirect.” tionship develops going down.

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To Vixen, blood with high or normal sugar levels smells sweet, while blood with low sugar smells bitter. “She’ll put her paw on my knee and that’ll tell me that something’s wrong and I need to go ahead and check,” said Morgan Raynes, a 19-year-old with Type I diabetes.

If the canine can intercept the child’s behavior, it can also help their relationship with their parents.

“The stress between the parent and the child is greatly decreased because the dog is the one saying, ‘Hey, let’s

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redirect,’” Day said.

The second type of autism service dog helps young adults transitioning into a job or college.

Those canines are similar to PTSD service dogs, Day said.

The hounds are trained to recognize certain body positions that show anxiety and lay their hand or paw on the person to provide comfort.

See DR. DOG, Page 14

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12

OUR VALLEY

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Harrisonburg, Va.

A Valley Menagerie

By ELLIE POTTER Daily News-Record

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY — While many people run with their dogs, Vern Michael used to run about 20 years ago along Port Republic Road with his camel, Molly.

But then she got too big.

“When she’d turn her head, she’d lift me off the ground,” he said. “I couldn’t control her well enough then to take her up along the road.”

Vern Michael, 67, and his wife, Mary Jane, 64, have owned four camels over the last three decades or so, animals that they purchased or adopted for Mill Creek Church of the Brethren’s live nativity scene each Christmas. Friends and neighbors bring sheep and calves to showcase in the event as well.

Glenn Bollinger, senior pastor of the church, who lives next door to the Michaels, said he waves hello to the camels regularly.

Having live animals in the re-enactment helps bring life to the scene, he said.

“We’re in an agricultural area where a lot of people have contact

with animals,” Bollinger said, “but certainly not this collection of animals. There’s something about the quietness of that moment as the animals themselves almost seem reverent. It just brings power to the whole setting.”

The Michaels host the annual event at their 12-acre farm off Port Republic Road, just a halfmile south of the church, something they’ve done for more than 30 years, attracting thousands of people to attend. They did not have camels when they first began hosting the event.

“We decided that we just wanted our place to become a bright spot on the way home,” Vern Michael said. “After the first or second time we did it, a guy was coming out of the barn and he said, ‘The only thing you need here is camels.’”

So, he decided to try to find one.

After nine months, Vern Michael found a camel in Florida named Omar and one in California named Ubert.

“Getting one was a surprise to me,” Mary Jane Michael said. “I was surprised he could have one.”

The Michaels decided to take

Molly (left) and Uberta, camels owned by Vern and Mary Jane Michael of Rockingham County, enjoy a meal of hay.

Ellie Potter / DN-R

Ubert, who was about 20 years old at the time, since he was older.

“If they were really difficult to deal with, we didn’t want them around for 40 years,” Vern Michael said with a laugh.

The camels draw people to the

Michaels’ home regularly, he said, so much so that he built a pulloff spot for visitors to keep people from parking on the road. He and his wife are pleased to see the joy their animals bring to both their neighbors and those passing by.

Enclose

“If you think about it,” he said, “the only thing you really have in life is the ability to make other people happy. Everything else is just not that important.”

See MENAGERIE, Page 15

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OUR VALLEY

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13

Mini-Pig Gannicus Full Grown At About 30 Inches Long, Weighs 46 Pounds Pig

FROM PAGE 7

the party catered. She was worried about how he’d handle the crowd, but that wasn’t a problem.

“He just thought he was the life of the party,” Damron said. “We had it downstairs in our basement, and probably for the next two months, once a day, he would go downstairs and look around like, ‘Where’s my party?’ He would look for it.”

Gannicus is full-grown now. He’s about 30 inches long and weighs 46 pounds.

In addition to the vegan dog treats he loves to eat and commercial mini-pig food, Damron prepares vegetable and fruit assortments to feed him, buying from a farmers market or fresh from a grocery store.

Damron said she still eats meat and teaches her students proper care of livestock. But, of course, she and her husband have given up pork.

Goes To Work Though Ganny has the demeanor to be a therapy animal and spend time with people, Damron said he’s still too active for her to have him sit by her side while she gives a presentation. She’ll continue to work on that with him.

Callahan, of Pet Partners, said research has shown that time spent with an animal can help reduce a person’s perception of pain, decrease their blood pressure, show their heart rate, and provide relaxation or stress relief.

Animals also have been known to motivate people to be more compliant during physical therapy.

“That unconditional love,” she said, “really does translate through therapy animals and the people they work with.”

Callahan said she knows of a mini-pig in New York City that excels in children’s reading programs. The children read to him.

Gannicus spends his weekdays with Damron at MTC, napping in an office while she teaches class. He knows the bell schedule and gets up when it’s time for lunch and time to head home.

When school groups come through on tours, she said, he’ll get up and take treats from children.

At All About Paws, he’s friends with the animals and has a crate in the cat room.

Though he demonstrates signs of stubbornness at times, there’s hardly a moment when his tail isn’t wagging.

Damron said his hair stands up when he’s curious.

Her swine experience has made her a staunch advocate of mini-pigs as pets.

“I mean, they’re as smart as a dog, and they don’t shed,” said Damron. “People want all these Labradoodles all the time; they can get ’em some pigs.”

Laurie Damron talks to students after waking her mini-pig, Gannicus, after a nap at Massanutten Technical Center.

Contact Vic Bradshaw at 574-6279 or vbradshaw@dnronline.com

Vic Bradshaw / DN-R

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14

OUR VALLEY

Saturday, May 26, 2018

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FROM PAGE 11

“These are very subtle things that dogs can do, but it makes a huge difference because it’s like holding up a mirror to a person,” Day said. “If you’ve got PTSD or you’re on the spectrum, you’re not necessarily aware of your body and what it can show for our mental state.”

Physical Disabilities, PTSD Physical assistance dogs primarily help people confined to a wheelchair, Day said. The canines act as “hands” and retrieve objects and open doors.

Some people confined to a wheelchair require constant assistance or aides, Day said, and the dogs can provide a small sense of independence.

“What the dogs can provide is some personal alone time where they don’t have to have an aide all the time,” she said.

Service Dogs of Virginia also provides canines for veterans or active-duty military

who have been diagnosed with PTSD. The dogs can help get people out of the house and moving more than if they were isolated at home, Day said.

She said the dogs’ training focuses on alerting their owner to an episode of stress or anxiety.

For example, if someone decides to go to a grocery store and the sounds and crowd becomes too much to handle, the dog will know to get between their legs and sit down. Day said the move allows the owner to focus on the dog and is subtle enough not to draw attention.

“To the general public it’s not embarrassing,” she said.

Public Perception Day said Service Dogs of Virginia conducts informational sessions to combat “tons of misinformation out there” about the animals.

A common misconception is the difference between a service dog, emotional sup-

port animal and therapy animal.

The Americans With Disabilities Act defines service animals as a dog that helps anyone with a disability, “including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.”

The act says the animals must provide a service directly related to the disability, such as a seeing-eye dog for people who are blind, helping people with epilepsy or alerting people with allergies.

The law specifically excludes all other types of animals, saying that “emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks” related to a service.

Sometimes, public interactions are the problem.

“The main problem was the public isn’t educated with how to act on service dogs,” Morgan Raynes said.

“So there were kids grabbing her tail and pulling on her vest.

“It became harder for me

to take her places because people were scaring her.”

Although the vests say don’t pet the dog and that the animal is working, people can sometimes ignore it when they see a cute dog.

“What people don’t realize is that she does look like a dog, a friendly puppy, but if you distract a service dog, that could cost me a trip to the hospital or that could cost me my life,” Morgan Raynes said. “Because once she’s distracted from me, she doesn’t alert like she should.”

No matter the need, the dogs are another way to manage disabilities or disease.

“It’s just another tool,” Amy Raynes said. “When you have a chronic disease, you have a toolkit that you use. You have your meter, you have your doctor, you have education. And then we got a service dog as just another tool.”

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OUR VALLEY

Harrisonburg, Va.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

15

Michaels: Camels ‘Not Really Ours. They’ve Been Adopted By This Community’ Menagerie

FROM PAGE 12

In addition to the camels, the Michaels also have a horse named Buddy and a donkey, Pedro. Pedro also takes part in the nativity scene.

Despite being smaller than the camels, Buddy is the alpha male, bossing around his donkey companion and both camels. Camels are docile creatures, Vern Michael said, despite their size.

Ubert traveled all over the Valley to visit Bible schools and other groups with the Michaels, he said, and was loved by many. The Michaels had him for about a decade before he died, devastating people across the Shenandoah Valley.

Though the Michaels weren’t sure about getting another camel, the commu-

nity began raising money for another one, prompting them to find Uberta, a camel from Nebraska, in 1996.

In 1998, they bought Molly and Humphrey from Warrenton. Humphrey died about three years later from a heart attack.

Vern Michael said he was surprised how friendly the camels were. They sometimes wander out into their field and sit under the trees to watch their humans, he said.

“When you think about it, how could you really hope for a better life than this?” he said. “They’re just really, really neat animals.”

Finding a veterinarian and farrier to work on the camels was not as tough as people might think, Vern Michael said, adding that camels are “in the llama family.”

Though it’s tougher to diagnose what’s wrong with a camel, he said, their humps help him gauge their health. The humps are full of fatty tissue, so when the hump shrinks, the camel may be sick or at least not eating as much as it should.

But the biggest problem they’ve had is keeping the camel’s feet dry when it rains, Vern Michael said, so that their feet don’t become chapped or raw.

They also must be careful when walking around the animals, making sure not to turn their backs or walk behind them.

When they decided to get camels, the Wildlife Center of Virginia called the Michaels, warning them about the dangers the animals pose. Camels have a very hard kick,

Vern Michael said, and can kick out to the side as well as backward.

The Michaels’ neighbors keep an eye out for them when they drive by, Mary Jane Michael said, calling or stopping by whenever they see the camels outside their pasture.

Molly slipped out twice

this spring through gates family members left open.

Both times, a woman who drives by daily alerted the family, Mary Jane Vern said.

Several months ago, Vern Michael said, the camels got out and people blocked off the road in both directions to ensure no one hit them.

A handful of people had

stopped and were trying to catch the animals to take them back to their field, he said.

“These animals — they’re not really ours,” Michael Vern said. “They’ve been adopted by this community.”

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16

OUR VALLEY

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Harrisonburg, Va.

The results are in!

{

{

bestShopping&Services

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OUR VALLEY

Harrisonburg, Va.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

80

6 Categories

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18

Saturday, May 26, 2018

OUR VALLEY

Harrisonburg, Va.

Joshua Wilton Chef Takes Home The Title

By SHELBY MERTENS Daily News-Record

Tom French, the executive chef of the Joshua Wilton House, is the Best of the Valley’s first ever Best Chef winner.

Daily News-Record readers overwhelmingly voted for French in the category.

“It is always a nice surprise to be recognized for something that you love doing,” French said upon hearing the news of his Best Chef win.

French was promoted to executive chef in February 2017 after serving as the Joshua Wilton House’s sous chef since 2009. He came to Harrisonburg with an impressive resume that included interning at Buckingham Palace.

French was born in Essex, England. He received his culinary training from the Colchester In-

Tom French is the executive chef of the Joshua Wilton House.

Stephen Swofford / DN-R File

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stitute and got his start working at his father’s restaurant, The Kingfisher Cafe.

Around a decade ago, French cooked canapés and other classical French dishes at Buckingham Palace for Queen Elizabeth II, the royal family and their guests for two weeks. His internship also included cooking at Windsor Castle, where the queen was spending Easter.

“It was pretty amazing,” he said in a July 22, 2017, article in the DN-R. “We were doing like 600 staff meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and then 15 royal meals, so that would be like breakfast, lunch, light tea and dinner as well for her and her guests and family.”

He then moved to the U.S., serving a brief stint at Keswick Hall in Charlottesville for a year as an intern before moving back

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OUR VALLEY

Harrisonburg, Va.

“

Best Chef of Harrisonburg is a great honor to receive, but I couldn’t put out the dishes that we create without the help of an amazing team.

Tom French

to England, where he worked at a few restaurants during his time there. French ended up moving back to the U.S. in 2009 and began working at the Joshua Wilton House, Harrisonburg’s fine dining restaurant and historic inn.

French’s mission in taking the helm of the kitchen at the Joshua Wilton House was to introduce new menu items, including chef specials, and experiment with different cooking techniques.

Jeff Hill, the co-owner of the Joshua Wilton House, said of French’s character in a previous

DN-R article, “There’s not an employee that is more passionate about this house than Tom French. He loves the place almost more than me. That tells his passion.”

Hill added that French is quiet, humble and a “tremendous talent.”

French was pleased to receive the recognition as Best Chef of the city he’s grown to love.

“Harrisonburg has become my home and we love serving our community,” he stated in an email. “We hope that this will encourage others to come in and try the cuisine that we put so much hard work into.”

French was sure to thank his kitchen crew at the Joshua Wilton House.

“Best Chef of Harrisonburg is a great honor to receive, but I couldn’t put out the dishes that we create without the help of an amazing team.”

Contact Shelby Mertens at 574-6274, @DNR_smertens or

smertens@dnronline.com

Saturday, May 26, 2018

19

Stephen Swofford / DN-R File

Tom French prepares a dish at the Joshua Wilton House in July 2017. French got his start in the area as a sous chef at Joshua Wilton in 2009.

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Saturday, May 26, 2018

OUR VALLEY

Harrisonburg, Va.

Lola Mo’s Gets Two Honors In First Year Proudly Delivering Comprehensive, Compassionate Medical Care to Harrisonburg and the Central Shenandoah Valley Since 1976 * All Physicians are Virginia-Trained *

By JUSTIN McILWEE Daily News-Record

Harrisonburg is a culinary Mecca, full of delicacies and authentic cuisine. Want tacos?

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But if you were wandering around downtown and got a hankering for a sandwich — an authentic delicatessen sandwich — until about four months ago, you were out of luck.

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And while they’ve only been open for

about four months, Valley residents have taken notice as Lola Mo’s was just voted Best New Restaurant, as well as Best Sandwich, in the Daily News-Record’s 2018 Best of the Valley survey, voted by Valley readers.

“The three of us had an idea to fill a niche and we just set out to fill it,” Strawderman said. “Mollie and Lauren kind of had an idea started prior to meeting me. I had an idea as well, things happened, fates aligned and we all just came together.”

Prior to opening Lola Mo’s, Strawderman ran a food truck, while Penrod currently owns and operates Midtowne Market downtown. Randa had no business experience, but had some culinary background, doing a few baking jobs here and there.

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OUR VALLEY

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Saturday, May 26, 2018

So, the trio got together and realized that Harrisonburg was missing a quick service deli; a place where customers could come in, get a sandwich, eat it and leave.

“You can come get a sandwich quick, there’s opportunity to sit down. It’s not encouraged to hang out for a while with simple classic sandwiches,” Strawderman explained.

Their menu includes signature sandwiches, such as the Ham Dancer, which is capicola ham with pineapple, provolone, lettuce, onion and mayo. The Cool Kids Club has ham, turkey, bacon, Swiss, cheddar, lettuce, tomato and mayo on wheat bread.

If you don’t want a signature sandwich, customers can order their own from a selection of turkey, pork, beef and chicken, along with cheeses, breads, condiments and toppings.

“Some places can get carried away with ingredients, this, that and the other,” Strawderman said. “They do it well, but sometimes you just want lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise with ham and to do it well with good ingredients, good bread and good everything all around.”

Lola Mo’s, a combination of the three owners names, was opened at 122 S. Main St. in the old Keezell Building in January.

Daniel Lin /

See LOLA MO’S, Page 23

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Saturday, May 26, 2018

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New Categories Bring About New Champs

By JUSTIN McILWEE Daily News-Record

Deciding the categories for Best of the Valley voting is no easy feat. The Daily News-Record staff works hard year after year to make sure that all businesses in the area get a fair shot at taking home an award.

So, to do that, categories have to be shaken up from year to year, with certain categories merging to become one and new categories added to give Valley voters a larger variety of choices.

Best Sushi: Beyond Cousins Praserth Saesow and Cy Khochareun are no strangers to Best of the Valley survey.

They are both family members of Ponsy and Tom Phonelath, owners of Taste of Thai, a traditional powerhouse in the food

categories. Sawsow and Khochareun opened Beyond in 2009, a restaurant focused on sushi and Vietnamese dishes. They quickly scooped up Best New Restaurant that year and are now back in the winner’s circle as they were chosen for Best Sushi in the area.

“We’re really thankful and happy,” Saesow said. “I love my customers; they have been great.”

The cousins opened up Beyond after initially looking for a place to open a second Taste of Thai location. After exploring options in Staunton and Charlottesville, they found a building for sale in Harrisonburg. But, as Saesow explained, they realized that Harrisonburg was too small to warrant a second Taste of Thai, so the pair went a different direction.

Daniel Lin / DN-R File

Beyond in downtown Harrisonburg is the inaugural winner for Best Sushi.

The restaurant was opened in 2009 by family members of Taste of Thai.

“We wanted to do something different,” he said. “We wanted

cause it was kind of new.”

But before they could dive right into the sushi business, they had to do some learning first.

“We have some relatives up in Maryland who have three or four sushi restaurants, so I went and trained with them for a while,” Saesow said. “Then, they came down here, trained us and walked us through everything, and that’s how we started Beyond.”

Their menu features more than 30 different types of sushi, including rolls that use fresh shrimp, crab and different kinds of fish, which is one of the reasons Saesow believes Beyond is so popular with Valley voters.

“We get our fish in fresh regularly,” he said. “We always

to do sushi, which, at the time, was not the most popular be-

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FROM PAGE 21

They also have a selection of soups including matzo ball, French onion and white bean, as well as sides like slaws, macaroni salad and fruit salad.

For dessert, they offer fresh baked goods prepared by Randa like cheesecake and a black and white cookie, a la “Seinfeld.”

But at the end of the day, what it really came down to were the sandwiches and the quality of ingredients Lola Mo’s uses, which was something they looked forward to after a year of working to get their building on Main Street open.

“When we finally got to make food, that was it,” Strawderman said.

“We did do a lot of research,” Randa explained. “We went to other delis and restaurants. There were certain things we liked about some of them and we took tips and tricks we liked and kind of fashioned what we saw as something we liked.”

Despite being fairly new, Randa said their customer base has been fantastic, with a good mix of repeat and new customers alike.

“The town has been really supportive,”

Randa said. “We have a really great group of regulars; there’s some people that are in here almost every day. You have completely new people who are in here everyday [and say], ‘We were up at Massanutten and they said we should come in,’ and that’s amazing.

Harrisonburg has been really great.”

While the shop has seen relative success, the trio hasn’t even started thinking about the future, choosing instead to make sure what they do now is of the highest quality.

“We want to do this well and we want to be here a long time,” Strawderman said.

And as Strawderman and Randa explained, it’s the great support of the town that allowed them to win two categories in this year’s Best of the Valley. “[It’s] pretty outstanding,” Strawderman said. “Being so new, too, is humbling.”

Randa added, “We can’t be here and we can’t keep going without the customers. We appreciate them appreciating us.”

But perhaps it was Penrod who summed up the win best when she exclaimed, “Yay!” Contact Justin McIlwee at jmcilwee@dnronline.com or 574-6265

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Court Square Theater Nabs New Award New

FROM PAGE 22

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Best Stage Theater: Court Square Theater Where else can you go to watch a movie, take in a live concert or catch a play, all at the same location?

Add in a snack bar and a rich history and you’ve got Court Square Theater, this year’s winner of Best Stage Theater.

“We’re honored and excited and we hope to continue to bring a level of entertainment where people deem us worthy of getting that award every year,” said Mark Finks, the manager at Court Square The-

ater.

You can’t think about the changes in downtown Harrisonburg without thinking about Court Square Theater. Originally, the building was a car dealership for more than 50 years. Then, in 1998, at the start of the downtown renaissance, the building was broken up into Court Square Theater, along with three other businesses.

“We were originally opened under the name Rockingham Theater,” Finks said. “Ownership of the theater was taken over by the Arts Council of the Valley in 2001 and that precipitated the name change to Court Square

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Harrisonburg, Va.

Theater in 2001.”

Court Square offers a wide variety of entertainment and does its best to bring in different performers to bring in different types of audiences.

“That’s part of our mission as a nonprofit community theater; our goal is provide entertainment for everyone in the Valley,” Finks said.

Finks said the theater’s nostalgia and history is what makes people continue to see shows there and support them in opportunities like Best of the Valley.

“What I hear from people when they come to Court Square Theater is, from the older generation, a lot of people remember coming downtown to the multiple theaters that downtown Harrisonburg used to have,” he said.

“There’s a whole history of

people coming downtown to see entertainment in an area that was known for entertainment for so many years.”

Best Fine Artist: Zac Nafziger “There’s something about the process of stained glass that really clicked.”

Those words, said by city artist Zac Nafziger, go a long way in explaining his affinity for stained glass.

And it’s that talent in the medium of stained glass that drew Best of the Valley voters to vote Nafziger as the first recipient of the Best Fine Artist category.

“Things like that always validate the process,” he said. “There’s so much time and energy that goes into being a full-time artist, and the compensation doesn’t always come with it, and so to have things like this to help further my

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career, it’s nice to have the recognition and response from the area.”

Nafziger has been interested in stained glass work for more than 25 years, but it took some time before he decided to start doing it as a career.

“I started this in 1992 with Barb Gautcher at [Eastern Mennonite High School],” he said. “The final product of having a physical art piece, plus the light playing through it, really appealed to me. I kind of stuck with it as a hobby through college and 14 years at Rosetta Stone.

Then, I got laid off one day and people were like, ‘Hey, you should do this full time.’ And so I did, for the past five years now.”

While many artists may struggle with finding inspiration for their pieces, Nafziger has the opposite attitude when it comes to his work.

“Anything can be inspiring,” he said. “The process of stained glass really breaks everything down to shape and line. It can be the rhythm of a song, an experience or a general feeling. Once it’s broken down into line and shape, it has a much different feel to it. It’s kind of stylizing reality.”

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Zac Nafziger creates stained glass pieces, many of which have practical uses. hand cut from a piece of glass, and then each piece is wrapped in copper foil and then it’s all put back together.”

Artist lovers in the area are in luck because Nafziger said that most of his work is commissioned based.

“I meet with a client, figure out what their idea is, and then, from that point, I make it into my style,” he said. “Each shape on a design is

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On The Lookout Valley Uses Search-And-Rescue Dogs To Traverse Large Areas

By PETE DeLEA Daily News-Record

HARRISONBURG — A few months ago, a man in his mid-60s wandered away from a New Market nursing home.

Shortly into their search, Shenandoah County deputies summoned Lucy — Rockingham County Sheriff Office’s roughly 5-year-old bloodhound trained in search and rescue.

Lucy and her handler, deputy Terry Pence, arrived, headed into a wooded area and located the man alive.

“It wasn’t long before we found him hiding in a tree line curled up in a ball,” said Pence, adding that finding a missing person and reuniting them with their loved ones is his main goal. “It’s an adrenaline rush. It’s an accomplishment.”

The sheriff ’s office received Lucy in April 2014.

A few months before, Pence received a mass email that went out to police departments from an officer with the police department in Duck, N.C. The officer, who also breeds dogs, was looking to donate two bloodhounds.

Pence replied and Rockingham County was chosen.

Lucy spent the first year training every Monday with the Louisa County Sheriff ’s Office and Richmond Police Department. Now, she’s called out to search for lost hikers and hunters, senior citizens who wander away from home, and, occasionally, crime suspects.

This January, Lucy was credited with finding a murder suspect, Phillip Daniel Ritchie, 32. Ritchie, wanted for the murder of a Broadway man, was found following a search at a home on Robinson Road in Rockingham County.

There are times, though,

Pete DeLea / DN-R

Deputy Terry Pence starting working with Lucy, a search-and-rescue dog, when the Rockingham County’s Sheriff Office acquired her in April 2014. when Lucy needs help. The department often turns to an outside group to assist with a search, according to Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson.

“Any time you have a big area or extended time

frame, we will call for extra resources,” he said.

Blue And Gray That call goes out to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, which activates a team of searchers.

Many times, state officials will turn to Harrison-

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jured. After recovering, she was determined to help others.

“A lot of people helped “It was very emotional,” she said, adding that me,” she said. “It’s a way the case made her want to pay back. This is someto continue working with thing I can enjoy and help other people.” search dogs. “That was Jones rememwhat solidified it bers finding for me.” a woman Her most a b o u t recent outt h r e e I enjoy working with of-state or four search the dog and I get to years was in do something good ago. The Glade elderly for the community.

Springs, w o m W.Va., in an, who June 2016 Misty Sampson walked following away from a flooding that nursing home killed 23 people. in Frederick Coun“It was a humbling experience,” Sampson ty, had been missing about said. “It’s humbling to be 16 hours when Scout sniffed able to view the areas that her out.

The woman was found are distraught.” on the damp ground, on the verge of going into Giving Back Jan Jones, who lives shock. Jones quickly got in rural northern Augus- the woman help.

“It was very satisfying ta County, searches with her 6-year-old Labrador that all the training paid off,” she said. retriever, Scout.

About five years ago, Jones was in a car wreck Contact Pete DeLea at 574-6267 or pdelea@dnronline.com that left her seriously in-

29

‘Humbling’ To View Areas In Distress Lookout

FROM PAGE 28

Virginia for training.

Within a few years, the team grew to seven handlers and included golden retrievers, Labradors and cattle dogs.

In addition to searches in Virginia, the group traveled out of state and overseas to help find people.

In 1985, Blue and Gray received its first international mission, when several team members traveled to Mexico City to help search for people following an earthquake.

Three years later, they responded to an Armenian earthquake.

In 2005, several handlers and K-9s went to New Orleans to search for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Today, the group consists of nine handlers and six dogs. VDEM sends them on about 35 to 40 searches a year.

Misty Sampson, 46, of

Harrisonburg, has been a handler for roughly 13 years.

She has three dogs: 12-year-old Took and her daughter, 11-year-old Ditto, and 10-year-old Kitty.

All are German shepherd mixes.

“I enjoy working with the dog, and I get to do something good for the community,” said Sampson.

Before she could begin searching, she spent two years training with her dogs.

“It’s pretty strenuous,” she said. “They have to have excellent endurance.

People go missing when its 90 degrees and when its zero degrees.”

Fresh off the heels of completing training, Sampson was sent in June 2007 to help search for a missing 2-year-old Louisa County boy.

He was found by another searcher after 17 hours in the woods. Sampson witnessed the rescue.

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Birds Of Prey Falconers Hunt With Various Species Of Birds

By NOLAN STOUT Daily News-Record

LURAY — While many hunters tend to silently stalk their prey, Mark Kilby needs to make a little noise.

On a typical hunt, the 63-year-old is armed with little more than a stick, sulking along the tree line and beating the brush.

And then a rabbit may dart into the open.

That’s when Kilby’s golden eagle swoops in for the kill.

Don’t let the bird’s species confuse you.

When Kilby, who co-owns the Luray Zoo, is on the hunt, he’s practicing falconry. It’s the sport of hunting with raptors, otherwise known as birds of prey.

Falconry is believed to have originated more than 4,000 years ago in northern China, according the Virginia Falconer’s Association’s website.

The practice spread to the Middle East and later Europe. The sport became popular

in the U.S. in the 20th century.

“Part of what I love about the sport is the history,” said Kevin Markey, vice president of the Virginia Falconer’s Association. “I do the same things that were done 800 years ago.

They haven’t changed very much.”

Markey said about 100 people are licensed by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to practice falconry in the state.

Many falconers hunt in the West because development is taking up former hunting grounds. Markey used to hunt around Harrisonburg in areas now swallowed by residential and commercial development.

“The environment for us to hunt in is getting smaller,” he said.

‘The Coolest Thing’ Kilby became a falconer in the late 1960s.

His father was a hunter, but Kilby wasn’t a

Falconer Mark Kilby holds his golden eagle at Luray Zoo. Falconry is believed to originate more See BIRDS, Page 31 than 4,000 years ago in northern China, according to the Virginia Falconers Association website.

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‘I Thought It Was The Coolest Thing’ Birds

FROM PAGE 30

fan of using guns. And that’s not a political statement; he just didn’t like the noise or simplicity.

“It was just so easy,” he said. “You see something, bang, you shoot it. I wanted to be able to sneak up on it.

Be able to catch that rabbit by my hands. Catch that squirrel, catch that deer.”

Markey, 60, saw a falconer hunting when he was 8 and was immediately enthralled.

“I thought it was the coolest thing on the planet,” he said.

It wasn’t until the 1980s, though, that he became certified as a falconer. Kilby and Markey now educate the public on the sport and the birds.

“We all, just by doing what we do, have a large

pool of knowledge that we like to hand out to people,” Markey said.

Using birds of prey, Kilby said, puts the hunter and hunted on a more even playing field.

“If the rabbit bit me and I lost it, it got away,” he said.

“If the deer broke my neck, it won. It made sense to me.”

The bird also has free rein to decide if it doesn’t want to work with a falconer.

“If you’re not a good partner for your bird, your bird can just fly away,” Kilby said. “That made sense to me. It can say, ‘Hey, it’s been fun, we’re breaking up.’”

On The Hunt Hunting with a bird starts long before prey runs across your path.

First, a falconer must trap a raptor in the wild.

The bird is then trained for

up to a month before it’s ready to hunt.

Birds commonly used in falconry include red-tailed hawks, Harrison hawks, Merlins, golden eagles and goshawks. Each hunts for different types of game.

Bigger falcons, Kilby said, chase birds like duck and quail. Others, like hawks and some eagles, attack small game like rabbits and squirrels.

Kilby said it’s important to use a wild bird rather than one bred in captivity so it has experience catching prey.

Once your bird is trained you can head out during the hunting season, which runs from late September to early March.

Falconers will release the bird to search for prey.

At the same time, the falconer walks along the tree

Falconer Mark Kilby shows off photos of his past birds at the Luray Zoo. Daniel Lin / DN-R

line, beating the brush to draw out a potential catch.

If game rushes out, the hunt is on.

The bird will swoop down and, hopefully, catch the animal. Sometimes it can be up to a mile away from the falconer, who must quickly reach the melee.

“When your bird catches

game, you’ve got to help it,” Kilby said. “That rabbit can kill your hawk and if you don’t help your bird, sometimes your bird can suffer the consequences.”

If you’re not quick enough, a squirrel can take off a toe with one bite, which happened to one of Markey’s Harrison hawks.

No matter your weapon,

or animal, of choice, Kilby said hunting is a natural human instinct.

“We as humans are natural hunters,” he said.

“We are omnivores. Whether you’re hunting in the woods or you’re hunting at Walmart.”

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