Congratulations to Serena and Matt who passed the Lowland Rescue First Responder course this weekend. The course is  run by the  Lowland Rescue Medical Faculty a multi-disciplinary team of  experienced pre-hospital care practitioners. The training includes classroom sessions, skills stations, and indoor and outdoor simulation. The course, accredited by the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, equips responders to deliver high quality, evidence-based pre-hospital care from the first point of contact with Lowland Rescue teams, prior to handing over to emergency services colleagues.

 

 

 

Scottish and Southern Electricity (SSEN) Resilience Grant supports local  communities to improve their resilience. As grant recipients in 2017 we were delighted to be invited to  their parliamentary reception  to learn more about their innovative projects.  Team member Serena fed back that “it was one of those occasions where you really don’t know what to expect but are pleasantly surprised” she met key SSEN staff and learnt about technical innovations and vulnerability mapping that could be used to help Search and Rescue. Our technical guru Laurence tried out the TOUCAN fault detection thermal imaging camera and learnt about  its  potential for use in search.

As the electricity distribution owner in central and southern England and the north of Scotland SSEN recognise their responsibility to continually drive improvements in network performance and extend the reach and support they provide to customers.  They are great supporters of Lowland Rescue through  the Resilient Communities Fund and we look forward to working in collaboration with them on future projects.

 

Picture: Team members Laurence and Serena day trip to Westminster.

This Sunday  the church at Hinton Martell was full of creatures great and small including  two trainee search dogs .  The congregation of  the animal blessing service included dogs, cats, and a tortoise who all  listened intently to our presentation about search dogs. It was a lovely service giving thanks for the joy that animals bring to our lives and finished  with  the animals each  receiving a blessing from the reverend Suzie Allen.

The service has been a long established  tradition going back to  1954 when Canon Barnard pioneered this unique service and Blessing for animals at St. John the Evangelist Church, Hinton Martel.

We were delighted  to be invited as guest speakers by the charity Animals’ Voice an Educational Trust and Wildlife Rescue based in Hampshire who campaign against cruelty to animals and rescue sick and injured animals from the New Forest. We send our thanks to the Chairman Mrs Betty Price  and the Congregation for the generous donation  made to Dorset Search Dogs.

Click to read more about the Animals’ Voice Charity HERE

 

The latest exercise to test the multi-agency response to finding missing people in Dorset was held on Brownsea Island on Friday 8 December 2017.

Specially trained officers from Dorset Police were joined by colleagues from the Coastguard, RNLI, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, Dorset Search and Rescue, Hampshire Search and Rescue Dogs, Dorset Search Dogs and the Royal Life Saving Society as well as the NPAS helicopter.

The first live scenario they encountered involved three missing people, including a 10-year-old boy, and a second scenario involved a vulnerable man who had been reported missing.

The services worked together to plan and co-ordinate the search and locate the missing people.

Earlier this year an exercise was held in Holt Heath Nature Reserve after officers took part in a week-long specialist training course to become Lost Person Search Managers to further improve the Force’s capability for finding missing people.

The Brownsea Island exercise also marked the completion of Dorset Police’s second training course for a further 11 Lost Person Search Managers.

Superintendent Mike Rogers, of Dorset Police, said: “Exercises such as this are a valuable way of testing the response of the various agencies involved to major incidents, the roles they each play and how they work together in such scenarios.

“They help us test our plans and resilience and ensure that our staff are up-to-date with the latest practice.

“I would like to thank all the personnel from the various agencies and organisations who contributed to the exercise as well as the National Trust for its permission and support to run the event on Brownsea Island.”

Dorset Search Dogs has received a boost to its funds after kind-hearted colleagues at the nearby Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) depot held a bake sale to raise money for the volunteer organisation.

Workers from the SSEN Poole depot had heard that Dorset Search Dogs was hoping to purchase an infra-red camera, which enables search crews to pick up heat signatures when they’re called into action in the hunt for missing persons.

As the SSEN team had already tackled Dry January and Veganuary, they decided that the rewards of baking were just what was needed to help them raise funds for the local organisation, which provides search and rescue support 24 hours a day – all year round – and relies on donations from members of the public and local companies to operate.

Through the sale of scones, sponges and strawberry tarts, the team raised a total of £200 to contribute to the purchase of the much-needed camera equipment.

Matt Yates, Community Relationship Manager for the region acted as both baker and banker for the fund-raiser and said: “Dorset Search Dogs is a well-known local organisation that functions purely through donations and when we heard that they were looking to buy such an important piece of kit, we didn’t hesitate to help. We’d all tackled the alcohol- and meat-free months at the start of the year, so we knew we needed something a bit more indulgent to get our colleagues to part with their cash and a bake sale was the perfect option.

“We know the service that Dorset Search Dogs provides to the local community is vital and we hope the money we have raised helps them to enhance the incredible work they do.”

Laurence Jeffries of Dorset Search Dogs commented: “We would like to offer our thanks, once again, to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, and especially the Poole depot staff, for their continued support of our charity.

“Dorset Search Dogs relies on donations to maintain its operational effectiveness when called out on behalf of the Police to search for vulnerable missing people; at all times and in all weather conditions. This donation will make a large difference towards maintaining and increasing our operational capability.”

Find out more about SSEN HERE

Very well done to Sheila and the gorgeous Barney who passed their intermediate assessment yesterday. Lots of hard work and keeping at it paid off.

Wendy and Hattie delivered an impressive performance at the national assessments of Lowland Rescue search dogs last weekend to qualify as a level 2 hasty dog team.

The Search Dog assessments took place in Epping Forest and were hosted by Essex Search and Rescue.  The task was made harder for Search dog Hattie because the good weather saw the forest was busy with walkers, horse riders and cyclists.  Hattie was not distracted and stayed focussed on her task and found the three dogs bodies hidden on her 2 km route, within one hour, meeting the standard set  for a Lowland Rescue Hasty Dog.

Wendy said afterwards “I am overwhelmed and so happy ! Today my big, beautiful, clever girl qualified as a Lowland Rescue Search & Rescue Dog. Major thanks to all who have supported us throughout the roller coaster of a ride that the last 4 years has been, especially my team mates who did the 200 mile round trip with me and the assessors who passed her”

 

There was no time to relax after their success when they were called out the very next evening on a live search.

Hattie is a Giant Schnauzer; giant in size and giant in character. She absolutely loves the search game and has a reputation in the team for her enthusiasm and energy!

 

Following a lengthy time recovering from an injury, we are pleased to announce that Steve and Oscar are once again an operational search dog team.

Dorset Search Dog Charlie receives the PDSA Order of Merit for lifetime service

Charlie who completed hundreds of searches during his exemplary ten-year career, has been honoured by the UK’s leading veterinary charity, PDSA.

Border Collie Charlie, who worked with his volunteer handler Matt Cooke, posthumously received the PDSA Order of Merit – known as the animals’ OBE – for his outstanding devotion to duty and service to society.

Charlie, who passed away in 2017, is the 32nd recipient of the award since its institution in 2014. His medal was presented to canine colleague Zak** at a special presentation at Highcliffe Castle today (Tuesday 15 October 2019).

Commenting on the awards, PDSA Director General, Jan McLoughlin, said: “We are pleased to announce Charlie as the latest recipient of the PDSA Order of Merit. Although we’re saddened that he was unable to receive his honour during his lifetime, we hope that Matt and his colleagues at Dorset Search Dogs see it as a fitting tribute to his incredible career.

“Our Animal Awards programme seeks to raise the status of animals in society.  Charlie’s long and dedicated career epitomises the reason we must continue our Founder’s tradition of honouring the contribution animals make to our lives.“The PDSA Order of Merit was introduced to recognise animals for their exceptional devotion to duty and service to society. Charlie was a truly exceptional animal and an incredibly worthy recipient of this medal.”

Charlie’s story

Border Collie Charlie started training as a Search and Rescue Dog with his owner, volunteer handler Matt Cooke, when he was 14-weeks-old, qualifying in November 2005. He soon attained the highest level of qualification and subsequently spent ten years in service with Dorset Search Dogs and Lowlands Search and Rescue. In this time he completed hundreds of searches and amassed thousands of search hours.

Charlie was deployed to both domestic and international incidents, helping find missing people in boggy woodland, dense undergrowth, burnt-out buildings and landslide zones.

Renowned for his phenomenal scent detection, Charlie could cover large areas of ground quickly, freeing up valuable Emergency Service resources to deploy elsewhere. As well as locating missing people, Charlie’s work enabled areas to be eliminated from a search, thus narrowing the focus of the Emergency Services. His methodical and reliable approach to searching earned him an enviable reputation within the Search and Rescue community.

In addition to his search duties, Charlie helped recruit and train other dogs to work in specialist taskforces. He also represented Search and Rescue Dogs in the House of Lords, raising awareness around quarantine and pet passports for specialist dogs travelling abroad.

Charlie’s most notable work includes:

• Charlie located an elderly and vulnerable lady who had been missing for 14 hours in freezing temperatures. Police and ambulance services reported that had Charlie not found her when he did, she wouldn’t have survived.
  • In May 2008, Charlie located a murder victim buried in a large field, leading to a conviction.
  • Also in May 2008, Charlie located a missing 90-year-old dementia patient who had become disorientated and bogged down in mud.
  • In February 2009, Charlie and Matt were sent to Ascension Island in the Southern Atlantic, to help search for a missing woman. Charlie, along with two Thames Valley Blood Detection dogs, searched the entire island in brutal conditions and terrain. Such was Charlie’s reputation, the fact that no one was located gave closure to the search. Clearing a search space in this way is often as important as making a positive find.
  • Charlie was called to search a fire-damaged squat for fatalities. One homeless man was known to have lost his life in the blaze, which took 50 firefighters and 13 engines to put out. Charlie’s skills were called upon to ensure that there were no other fatalities in the building, which became structurally unsound. His subsequent search enabled the building to be cleared for demolition.

  Charlie retired at the end of 2015, enjoying a full and happy retirement until he passed away in December 2017.

   

  Award reaction

  Charlie’s handler, Search and Rescue volunteer, Matt Cooke, said: “Charlie was my boy. My dog of a lifetime. He was a pleasure to train and work alongside, and I am immensely proud of everything he has achieved in his career. For him to receive the PDSA Order of Merit, even after he has left us, is such an incredible honour. I am thrilled to have Zak – his Hampshire Search and Rescue colleague – accept the medal on Charlie’s behalf.”

  

  

   

  PDSA Order of Merit dogs

  Find out more about Charlie and all the other amazing canine Order of Merit recipients here.

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