Gary Stevens and Jenny
I have been a Prison Officer at Dorchester prison since 2004; I previously served in the Royal Navy as an aircraft engineer.
At Yeovil Fire Station’s Open Day in the summer of 2007 I met the dogs’ and handlers’ of the Lowland Search Dogs Southern team. Occasionally I have thought that I might prefer to work with dogs than people and whilst at the Open Day I enquired about joining a local team and I was put in touch with Dorset Search Dogs - the rest, as they say, is history.
My dog, Jenny, is a Collie cross Springer whose dad is a working sheep dog and mum is a gun dog from two farms in Beaminster, Dorset. She is a family pet who from an early age would play hide and seek with my wife and young daughter.
I am still in the early stages of training Jenny and I sometimes think it’s me who has the most to learn, but we are getting there slowly. I have recently completed my Search Technician’s course with Dorset Search and Rescue and I hold a current First Aid qualification.
My wife says that when I go out with the dog for the day training – she misses the dog!!!