Search dog Wynn starts operational duties with Calder Valley team

The Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team has announced that Chairman, David Warden and his three year old border collie '˜Wynn', have recently been successful in the Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England (MRSDE) Assessment
Pictures by Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England and photographybyanderson.co.ukPictures by Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England and photographybyanderson.co.uk
Pictures by Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England and photographybyanderson.co.uk

This confirms that they have achieved the required standard for operational duties.

Read: Halifax Potting Shed is hiring new team members ahead of opening next monthWynn joined the team in 2015 as a 10 week old trainee and is the third dog that David has trained as a mountain rescue search dog, in a process which has taken two and a half years.

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The assessment was held at the weekend and required the pair to demonstrate their capability over three days in winter conditions in the Lake District mountains, searching for ‘missing’ volunteers (dogsbodies), during which they undertook five searches, successfully achieving five passes.

In addition to being capable of operating in mountain and high moorland environments in all weather conditions, they are also trained in searching in lowland areas, including woodland, semi-rural and certain urban environments.

Read: Brighouse Community Cinema celebrates best year ever as 2019 programme is announcedSearch dog ‘Wynn’ now joins Search dogs ‘Meg’, ‘Jack’ and ‘Finn’ serving CVSRT across the team's operational area and mid-Pennines region, and beyond if required.

Search dogs have been a part of CVSRT since 1977 and the team now has a team of four air-scenting search dogs and handlers with three trainee search dogs (Tinker, Orion and Tess).

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Over the years there have been 17 qualified search dogs and 11 handlers assisting the search team.

The dogs are trained to 'Air Scent' so, as a general rule, they do not track the missing person, but react to wind borne human scent.