Search dogs to the rescue

A pioneering alpine canine search rescue team is moving to expand its Southern Lakes skifield operations further afield, as Matthew Haggart reports.

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If you are ever unlucky enough to be trapped in an avalanche, the TC Search Dogs are the best kind of friends a man, woman or child could ever want in the mountains.

The team's specially trained sniffer dogs could be the difference between life and death for a person trapped under the snow.

• Avalanche dogs 'fizzing' 

"Our objective is to save lives," founder of Treble Cone Search Dogs Matt Gunn said.

Mr Gunn has more than 15 years' experience as a ski patroller and avalanche forecaster.

He was one of the first ski patrollers to train a dog to work with him as part of his alpine duties, and during the past five years he has encouraged other like-minded colleagues to do the same.

He recently registered TC Search Dogs (TCSD) as a nonprofit incorporated society, with a view to expanding operations to provide a year-round search dog service for the Southern Lakes region.

Mr Gunn became involved in the search dog industry about a decade ago when he decided to train his border collie pup Blizzid in rescue recovery techniques for the alpine environment.

The pair became the founding members of TCSD in 2007 when Mr Gunn "retired" from his Treble Cone ski patrol position to develop the programme, which has led to the incorporation of their fledgling team.

Mr Gunn and Blizzid have been joined by Treble Cone colleagues Brendan Kearns and Callum Grant and their respective Labradors, Millie and Zeppelin.

Mr Kearns and Millie started their avalanche training together about six years ago at Treble Cone.

Millie's "incredible" Labrador nose combined with her natural mountain aptitude resulted in the pair skipping the national avalanche dog standard of novice to become fully operational as a search team in 2005.

Mr Grant began training with Zeppelin in 2008 and the pair became operational in 2009.

Mr Grant spends his summer months working as a mountain guide, mostly for overseas clients, climbing some of the Southern Alps' highest peaks.

The handling trio and their canine companions combine to provide a seven-day-a-week cover of two avalanche dogs throughout the ski season.