Steve decided to train his own rescue dog after being involved in LandSAR for about seven years. He chose Echo as a puppy based on aptitude and breed characteristics.
“I looked specifically for a labrador-spaniel cross. I’d spent time with one in my years working on farms, and he was a great dog. You get the benefits of a labrador without the bulk.”
There is a selection and approval process before dogs can begin training, which then takes an average of two and a half years.
“Search and rescue dogs learn skills in three areas – tracking, where they follow scent trails where someone has walked, area search where they roam an area and try to capture a scent on the breeze, and lastly article search where they find things humans have dropped like a muesli bar wrapper, gun shells, or clothing.
“Echo has found 11 people, and assisted in 30 searches. Unfortunately, sometimes missing people have passed away in the bush. Finding them means their family can have some closure and aren’t always wondering ‘what if?’.”
There are only a handful of trained rescue dogs in the country. As dogs (and their handlers) retire there aren’t always replacements coming up through training. This can mean quite a bit of travel for Steve and Echo, which the community grant will help with.
Echo and Steve also attend training camps each year as well as being annually reassessed by both New Zealand LandSAR rescue dog assessors and NZ Police Dog assessors. The council community grant will allow Steve to cover training camp costs.
When he’s not searching in the bush, Echo is a cruisy family dog.
“He does everything with me and hangs out around the farm,” Steve says. “He’s pretty laid back but if I get out his harness and put my jacket on, he’s all noise. He knows it’s time to get to work.”
If you’re interested in getting involved with Search and Rescue, visit www.landsar.org.nz to learn about volunteering.
