History

In July of 1982, Lue Button began AKC tracking with her Weimaraner, Rudy. Realizing that she was a potential asset to search and rescue (SAR), a Los Alamos National Laboratory colleague and Field Coordinator, Bob Skaggs, used Lue and Rudy's tracking expertise in a search in Santa Fe. Man trackers verified Rudy's indications. The subject had wandered and was picked up on a road.

In Albuquerque, during roughly the same time period, a group of Ham radio operators were also beginning to train dogs. Lue met up with them (led by Bob Foster) and worked with them steadily for a year. This group went on to become New Mexico Rescue Dogs (NMRD), based in Albuquerque. In Los Alamos, between 1983 and 1984, more interest developed in dog tracking. Lue and a small group of lab employees met twice a week to practice tracking.

In 1984, Lue attended a National Search Dog School near Ogden, Utah where she met Sandy Bryson, a nationally recognized search dog trainer. Armed with new information, she continued raising interest in dog tracking for wilderness search. Bob Cowan, Dave and Terry Dubois, Lynn Bjorklund, and, eventually, Wendee Brunish joined Lue. The group severed from NMRD and took on the name Mountain Canine Corps (abbreviated MC² or MCC), with the play on "E= MC²" or "in emergency, call MC²". MC² has continued to grow steadily to become the largest canine SAR team in New Mexico and one of the largest wilderness canine teams in the entire United States.

Note: Sadly, Lue Button passed away in 1999.

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