For the dogs

Christy McPherson’s smile is not the product of her rescue. Her heavy gloves, hiding strong hands and the bursting sinews of veiny fingers, are more a part of a game then the conclusion of some drawn-out operation.

She’s caught up in play in her hidden jumpsuit — a loaner from the Missouri Task Force 1. She’s playing a part in a demonstration, educating others on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

At the MU Veterinary Medicine Open House, McPherson lies in a barrel on a hill, next to a parking lot.

Talking about her heavy clothing she said, “It’s mostly hot because it’s heavy. It makes you feel like a wrestler, running laps wearing sweats.”

Kiera, the black English Labrador retriever, rips at the toy in McPherson’s gloved grasp.

Children cry with excitement in the background as they watch the canine.

Kiera, slobbering over the toy made of wrapped rubber hose, successfully frees McPherson from her cylindrical cave.

Trainer Deborah Goodman watches with approval as her dog successfully rescues her mock victim.

McPherson speaks candidly of her plastic prison. “It actually makes a nice little sauna,” she says nonchalantly of the 79-degree degree heat visible in the sweat pouring from her brow.

But the dog and woman playing in today’s game are not just playing for the crowd. This act could very well be reality in coming days.

McPherson, a first year veterinary medicine student at MU, is more than just a 22-year-old looking to help out at an open house.

She’s thinking about what it would be like to help train a dog like Kiera.

But for now her heart is unburdened, set free by the yelps of dogs and children alike.

The former William Woods soccer player is not worried about her GPA or upcoming exams, and from the looks of things her Saturday afternoon experience is more than just a workout — it’s a labor of love.