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Search and rescue dogs: ‘They could be a person's last hope of survival'

Irish Times

16-06-2025

General
Irish Times

Search and rescue dogs: ‘They could be a person's last hope of survival'

Davy Fraser is explaining why Search and Rescue Dog Association Ireland North (Sarda IN) do what they do – 'You see a family standing wondering what's going on ... and if you can do something to help' – when his phone rings. The pop song Who Let the Dogs Out? echoes across the yard at Tollymore National Outdoor Centre near Newcastle, Co Down. This is where Sarda IN is based. 'That's a call out,' his colleague, Trevor Hartley, says. Hartley's phone begins ringing too, then another, then another, until a chorus of ringtones echoes around the forest that surrounds the centre. READ MORE It is the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) asking for Sarda IN's help to find a missing person. Within minutes, the handlers – and their dogs – are in their vehicles and have taken to the road, blue lights flashing. The only registered voluntary search dog team in Northern Ireland, Sarda IN is part of the North's official search and rescue effort and is tasked by the PSNI, fire service , mountain rescue and gardaí to find and rescue people missing on both sides of the Border. In its lifetime – the charity was founded in 1978 – its dogs and handlers, all volunteers, have carried out 3,000 search missions, and last year dealt with 32 call-outs. These are specialist dogs, explains training officer Rafe O'Connor. In addition to six mountain rescue dogs, they have four urban search and rescue dogs that work for the fire service and are part of the international search team that are dispatched to earthquakes abroad. There are four trailing dogs that are 'scene-specific', says O'Connor. Cadaver dog Rosie waiting for a turn during a training session at a quarry. Photograph: Alan Betson 'So, for example, if an elderly person has gone missing, they can find them up to 24 hours [afterwards by] following a specific scent trail,' he says. 'We have four cadaver specialist search dogs, which is for deceased humans – unfortunately, but that's sometimes needed.' The work of the cadaver dogs has been cast into the spotlight after it emerged following the recent sentencing of Richard Satchwell for the 2017 murder of his wife Tina Satchwell in their Youghal, Co Cork home that the State does not have its own such dog. On Friday gardaí investigating the murder of Annie McCarrick , who went missing in Dublin more than 32 years ago, brought in a cadaver dog to search a house in Clondalkin, west Dublin, that had been sealed off, though it was not one of the dogs from Sarda IN. Nelly, a cadaver dog, sits and waits during search training. Photograph: Alan Betson Following the Satchwell case, Sarda NI has written to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris 'reminding him of the assets we have and that we're more than willing' to assist, says O'Connor. A potential link with the fire service in the Republic is also being explored. Donna Harper knows first-hand the difference a cadaver dog can make. Sarda IN's dogs were deployed to Creeslough, Co Donegal, to search for victims and survivors in the rubble of the suspected gas explosion that killed 10 people in 2022. She waited almost 24 hours for her 14-year-old daughter Leona – the last to be found – to be recovered. 'Without a doubt, we would have been waiting a lot longer if it hadn't been for the dogs,' she says. 'There were a few dogs on site ... they actually went and they sniffed out the area and then indicated to the handlers, who then indicated to the emergency services, where Leona was, and that's how Leona was found. 'It really was an emotional scene – it was incredible to watch them work, and to see what the dogs and their handlers were able to do.' Harper and her family are still in touch with the dogs and handlers who found her daughter, and fundraise for the charity. The State, she says, must either invest in its own dog or fund the work of Sarda IN. 'The Government did say they would help in any way they could, when the explosion happened, so there's no better chance now for them to stand up and help,' she says. 'As a mother, I'm asking them to help now and fund the dogs.' Dr Neil Powell, president and founding member of Sarda IN, with Nelly, a cadaver dog. Photograph: Alan Betson In Co Down, at Sarda IN's base, the team has returned. Dogs and handlers that had been called out were stood down after police identified a location for the missing person. Instead, they return to the planned training exercise. Human blood and bone – the charity has a licence to use small amounts of archaeological remains – has been hidden in a small container inside a shed and beneath a rock. First up is Fraser's dog Rosie, a Labrador-hound mix who was originally a rescue dog. She bounds off and heads straight for the shed; when she finds the scent, she begins to bark loudly, stopping only when she gets her reward – a ball to play with. Next is Sarda IN founder Neil Powell's dog, Nelly, a springer spaniel who has plenty of experience. 'She'll be very quick,' he says. Once released from her lead, Nelly shoots off. 'See that – boom,' says O'Connor. 'That was about five seconds. She's a rocket.' Nelly sits by her find, looking very proud of herself. 'She's saying: 'Give me my toy,'' says Fraser. In the Satchwell case, it was more than six years after Tina's disappearance that a cadaver dog was brought in to assist with the search. The 45-year-old's body was found buried underneath the house in October 2023, more than six years after her disappearance. A garda searching a property with the assistance of a specialist cadaver dog. Photograph: Damien Eagers/ PA Wire The house was searched around the time of her disappearance in 2017 but a cadaver dog was not used. When a dog was deployed during the 2023 search, it focused on the area under the sittingroom stairs, from where human remains were subsequently recovered. [ How was Tina Satchwell left in a makeshift grave under the stairs for more than six years? Opens in new window ] O'Connor is in no doubt that had a dog been used in 2017, Ms Satchwell would have been found. 'If you imagine you've buried a body in the house; what's out there,' he says, gesturing towards the training ground where Nelly is now playing with her ball, 'is a small piece of blood, it's probably 20ml, and it's a tiny piece of bone, but if you've buried a body, I can guarantee within 10m of it the dog will be showing interest in that area'. Would it be 'preferable', as Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan said following Satchwell's conviction, for gardaí to have a dog? 'We don't get involved in operational decisions that's entirely up to a police force,' says O'Connor. But he points out: 'Having one would be lacking in resilience ... you would actually need multiple. We always use two dogs for any operation, one to back up the other.' Today, those dogs and their handlers have a global reputation. In the containers that serve as the charity's headquarters, their gear is always packed and ready, so they can be deployed to an earthquake or a disaster zone at a moment's notice. Dr Neil Powell in a training session with Nelly, a cadaver dog. Photograph: Alan Betson O'Connor points out a photograph of 'the famous Pepper'. 'He was Neil's dog, he was at Lockerbie with him, and that's his original jacket,' he says, referring to the 1988 bomb attack on a Pan Am flight in December 1988 that killed 270 people, including 11 residents of the Scottish town. The best moments are when someone is found alive. In a disused quarry overlooking Newcastle, O'Connor's border collie, Floss – or 'Super Search Dog Floss' as he calls her – shoots off towards the pile of blocks, which simulate a collapsed building. Within about 20 seconds, she has found him. 'The big find Floss got was Carol Grey in 2019 ... which won her Superdog Hero of the Year in 2022,' says O'Connor. 'This lady had been missing from the Ulster Hospital for four days. That's what it's all about for us. 'Those wee dogs there could be a person's last hope of survival,' says Hartley. 'It's amazing to watch what they can do.'

‘Powerful jaws': Postie reveals horrific trauma after vicious dog attack on the job

News.com.au

13-06-2025

Health
News.com.au

‘Powerful jaws': Postie reveals horrific trauma after vicious dog attack on the job

A Perth postie has revealed the horrific trauma she suffered after a brutal dog attack while on the job. It comes as Australia Post announced plans to arm posties with citronella spray to fend of dangerous dogs, and a new study revealed nine posties are attacked on average every day across the country. Bronwyn Adamson had been working for Australia Post as a postie on an electric delivery vehicle (EDV) for only a few short weeks in Perth when she was targeted by a dog while doing her postal run. The attack left her with lifelong scars and trauma. She has 17 years of experience as a veterinarian nurse under her belt and has adopted several rescue dogs with '(traumatic) pasts', giving her plenty of experience with unpredictable animals. However, an hour-and-a-half into her postal run, she arrived at a house for a parcel delivery that required a signature, 'walked up and knocked on the door'. A male voice boomed from the side gate, telling Ms Adamson he'd be right there to sign for the package. 'I turned to (face) that voice, and next thing, this dog just launched at me and bit my breast,' she said, a feeling she described as 'very unpleasant'. 'I don't know what breed (it was), but it had powerful jaws,' she recalled. 'It (made) a puncture wound on my left breast and left extensive bruising.' The man was 'very apologetic' after the incident, and 'growled' at the dog to scare it away, but the damage was done. In the weeks that passed, the bruising became so extensive that it 'ended up in a haematoma about the size of a golf ball'. Ms Adamson's recovery has taken months, and she has only recently been given the all clear by her doctors. 'It was a very painful experience,' she said. On average, there are nine reported attacks on posties every day across the country, though attacks are more common in certain states and suburbs. Western Australia, where Ms Adamson works, is the third worst-affected state in the country for dog attacks on posties, with 184 reported attacks in areas including Joondalup, Geraldton and Malaga between November 15, 2024 and May 15, 2025. Leading the pack is Queensland, which has reported 388 incidents in the last six months, with the worst-affected areas Darra, Bundamba and Toowoomba. In NSW, the second-most affected state in the country, Australia Post reported 329 incidents, with the worst three areas Moree, Penrith and Waterloo. Victoria is fourth worst, reporting 138 incidents, with the majority of dog attacks happening in Oakleigh South, Mooroolbark, Deepdene and Mornington. 'Moree in NSW is one of many hotspots where the number of roaming and unrestrained dogs has created dangerous conditions for our posties,' Australia Post general manager safety Russell Munro said in a statement. 'When our people continue to end up in hospital, we have a responsibility to act and this (using citronella spray) is a last-resort measure.' The most common incidents occur when dogs are roaming around or escaping from a person's property, with 57 per cent of all attacks happening while the dog is on the street. However, nearly 40 per cent of all cases happen on the customer's property – half of which occur when they open their front door. Ms Adamson said she wasn't the only one in her area to suffer at the hands of unruly dogs. '(Attacks) have happened to quite a few people here at the actual post office, and they've ended up in hospital because of puncture wounds, with lots of blood on knees and elbows,' she told NewsWire. 'It is a constant thing.' She said reactive dogs weren't necessarily a concern because owners generally knew how to keep them at bay. However, it's the 'friendliest, loveliest little dogs' that pose the biggest risk for posties. 'Unfortunately, (little dogs) see us as a threat because we come every day and we leave every day because they bark at us,' she said. 'And we keep coming back and they get angrier with us, until eventually, if they get out the door or if the gate gets left open, they'll bolt outside and bite us because that's their next line of defence.' It's a heartbreaking situation, she told NewsWire. 'I love dogs,' Ms Adamson said. While she has experience with reactive dogs and loves canines in general, Ms Anderson confessed the attack left her so traumatised it affected her job. 'I'm very conscious when I hear a dog barking,' she said. While most pet owners are 'very understanding' when she asks them to place their dogs behind a fly screen or in another room when delivering parcels, she's still 'terrified' when a dog's reaction is so strong it can 'rattle the glass windows'. 'I was terrified that the flimsy flyscreen was not going to work,' she told NewsWire. 'So I ended up carding the parcel and not approaching the door at all, so they had to go to the post office to pick it up.' Australia Post is taking the next steps to prevent further attacks on posties by introducing a water-based citronella spray to fend off attacking dogs. From the end of July, posties will be equipped with the spray, which is non-harmful and 80 per cent effective in making dogs retreat, but they should only use it as a last resort. Posties will also undergo extensive training to use the deterrent, which can only be used under strict protocols. 'The citronella spray will give me peace of mind,' Ms Adamson said. 'I'll feel safer knowing I have something that could protect me from another attack.'

Woman whose entire face was torn off by two violent dogs reveals what she looks like 4 years later after 28 operations - as people say her progress is 'astonishing'

Daily Mail

05-06-2025

Health
Daily Mail

Woman whose entire face was torn off by two violent dogs reveals what she looks like 4 years later after 28 operations - as people say her progress is 'astonishing'

A woman who was violently attacked and bitten 800 times by two dogs she was hired to care for has shared an update on her recovery four years on from the ordeal that left her badly disfigured. Jacqueline Durand, a student at Texas University, was just shy of her 22nd birthday when she was mauled by two rescue dogs, a German Shepherd mix, Lucy, and a Pitbull mix named Bender in 2021. The attack was so vicious it left the student fearing for her life, but as she shares photos of herself well into recovery four years on, people say her progress is 'astonishing'. Ahead of Christmas in 2021 Durand, a supply chain management student and dog sitter of seven years, had been hired to dog sit the creatures and believed them to be 'lovely' in a meeting the day before she looked after them for the first time. Before arriving at the dogs' home, Durand had been assured by her new employers that the pooches would be in crates and kennels - but when she arrived they were wandering around freely. Despite having a positive first encounter with the dogs, Durand walked into an entirely different atmosphere on 23 December when they took their opportunity to pounce, biting her 800 times in an attack that tore the flesh from her face. They savagely bit into her nose, ears, lips and cheeks, leaving her with injuries so severe that she was placed into a medically-induced coma while doctors performed an emergency seven hour surgery on her. Following the horrific attack, the dogs were captured and placed in the care of the City of Coppell before a municipal judge decided that both dogs should be euthanized. Four years on from the attack, the 25-year-old shares regular updates on her recovery as she continues to live with the consequences four years on from the attack that changed her life. Hoping to raise awareness to the dangers of dogs, Durand has shared details of her story on both TikTok and Instagram, explaining that she had since had facial reconstructive surgery to improve the appearance of her injuries. She told how doctors first carried took a skin graft from her buttocks and forehead. They rebuilt her nose using skin from near her hairline and her lip was remade from skin on her left thigh. 'It's a long road to go to recovery but I am doing alright, I am progressing,' she said in a video posted in 2023. She recently had her 28th surgery, telling followers that despite the 'lack of sleep', the process was 'all worth it' to see progression. In the weeks following the surgery, where 'a lot was done', she said she was 'beyond excited' by the results, sharing a photo of her face, which still had stitches around the cheek area. 'I can finally say I'm starting to see myself again and the more I heal the more I will be pleased with how things are progressing,' she captioned the picture, thanking doctors for helping with her 'remarkable healing'. In another update share to Instagram a week ago, she attached a picture of her face following the surgery. 'My eye is still slowly easing up on swelling but scabs are falling off and the integral is doing well,' she captioned the picture. Responding to Durand's updates, her followers have expressed their awe at how well she has recovered following the vicious attack. One person wrote: 'Wow!!! I see the progress from your last surgery. Amazing!' Another said: 'The progress is truly astonishing. Seeing your features being restored. Your doctors are truly artists.' Despite experiencing horrific injuries at the hands of canines, it hasn't deterred the 25-year-old from owning dogs and she now shares a close bond with her own pet, Luna, who she said has helped in her recovery. 'I had to also share these precious moments of Luna laying with me. She knows what I need before I even know,' she wrote next to a picture of the pair snuggling up together. Durand has come a long way in the last four years, despite initially being unrecognisable after sustaining the injuries. Describing the attack, which took place in 2021, Durand said the two offending dogs had been nothing but 'lovely' when she first met them, but that things had taken a violent turn as soon she entered the property where she was supposed to be taking care of them. Led to believe both would be in crates when she arrived, Durand was left stunned when she opened the door and was straight away knocked her off balance, causing her to fall and drop her cell phone. The bloodthirsty creatures then pinned the dog sitter to the ground and dragged her though the corridor into the living room where they proceeded to hack away her face. So violent were the dogs that they even pulled all of Jacqueline's clothes off, including her blue jeans. They then ripped off her ears, nose, and face, leaving nothing but bone behind, and she lost 30 per cent of the blood in her body, leaving her hospitalised for 60 days. In the interview with CBS Mornings at the time, she said: 'When I felt the skin hanging from my face, I thought I was going to die.' The dogs dragged Jacqueline from the entryway into the property. Photographs taken after the attack show a bloodied rug and dog bed. Jacqueline lost 30 per cent of her blood in the mauling and now faces several surgeries and has frequent physical therapy sessions During the attack, Durand was unable to call for help - but 911 was alerted because the property's front door was left open when the dogs pounced, triggering an alarm. When first responders arrived, they were unable to enter the home for an excruciating 37 minutes because the dogs were so aggressive. A representative told CBS News they were 'only able to see Jacqueline Durand's legs and were not immediately aware of the extent of her injuries'. Bodycam footage from officers on the scene reveal Jacqueline screaming for help as the dogs continued to attack her. She was laying on her stomach naked when police were finally able to enter the home and rescue her, with footage showing her crying as medics inspected her body and told her to 'keep breathing'. She was then rushed to hospital where she received a seven hour long emergency surgery. Her parents also said their daughter had to be resuscitated multiple times and was placed in a medically induced coma during the first week. 'It was clear that he was saying she's in for a fight for survival,' her father John told CBS News, calling her a 'miracle.' Despite the horrific attacks and the multiple reconstructive surgeries she underwent, Durand said she is ready for the world to see her face. 'It's time to show who I am now, and I can't be scared of it,' she said. Speaking on the show, she was keen to use her horrendous experience to set an example to dog owners. 'I want dog owners to know their animals and be able to communicate with their sitters how they are,' she told CBS News. She described being left 'speechless' by the radical change in their behaviour, having appeared to get along with them on first meeting.' After every meet and greet I had, I always felt the same with those other dogs and they don't change their attitude from the time that I met them to the time that I go there for the first time.' The owners, who have three children - including a three-year-old - claimed the dogs were never violent, telling investigators that they had 'zero' problems with them. However, they reportedly had a sign on their home claiming to have 'crazy dogs' and to not 'ring the doorbell'. The front door sign read: 'Crazy Dogs. Please Don't Knock or Ring the Bell. Call or Text Instead.' 'The warning on the door suggests that the Bishops knew that both of these dogs have acted aggressively to people arriving at the front door,' Durand's lawyer Chip Brooker told CBS Mornings. Following the attack, Durand filed a lawsuit, accusing Dr Bishop and his wife of negligence for allegedly failing to control, secure and train the animals, as well as 'failing to provide a safe environment for their invitees.' The lawsuit lays the blame directly at the Bishops who allowed the animals to remain on their property while 'knowing they had dangerous propensities'. It alleges the Bishops knew of the dog's tendencies towards violence because of the 'crazy dogs' warning sign that was visible to anyone walking up to the front door. 'Jacqueline will forever measure her life in terms of before and after opening that door,' Brooker said. 'She will be permanently disfigured for the rest of her life, and we filed this lawsuit to make sure all the responsible parties are held accountable.' Between 2005 and 2017, there were a total of 433 deaths caused by dogs in the US Pit bulls continue to top the list of America's most dangerous dog breeds, having been responsible for 284 fatal attacks on humans from 2005 to 2017. The second breed on the list, Rottweilers, came a distant second with 45.

RNZ News

02-06-2025

General
RNZ News

King's Birthday Honours: Ron Ealam recognised for work training search and rescue dogs

Photo: LandSAR There are many ways to serve a community, and Ron Ealam, from Oxford in Canterbury has been doing it, for the last few decades at least, with trusty dogs at his side. On Monday, Ealam was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his work with Land Search and Rescue over more than 50 years. For half of that he has been working with rescue dogs - developing the official search dogs training programme and becoming a national trainer and assessor. "I just quite enjoy being out there, and to actually train a dog up to achieve what we've achieved is just quite amazing," he told RNZ. He brought with him Skyla, a border collie beardie cross - one of those he has trained over the years. "They're actually a light, a very light dog that can work pretty good hours and just stop and have a rest and keep going again, and they're just full of energy." Rescue dogs were trained to recognise human scent, Ealam said. "We train them initially right from when they were a pup to indicate and follow human scent, which are skin follicles that fall off your body." And not every dog has a nose for it, he said. "It's just a matter of finding a dog that has got a good nose, and we developed that and enhance their natural ability… they're pretty amazing... once they pick up a scent, they lock onto it and they'll just stay on it." One of his most memorable rescues was an early one at Lake Kaniere in the South Island. "We got a call at 11 o'clock at night for a missing multi-sport runner at Methven, and we drove through the night and we got to Methven about six o'clock in the morning and they put us in a helicopter and took us up onto the tops. "And we searched down for probably four to six hours, and then my dog indicated on the footprint that went down a creek, and we followed the scent down to the last party and she was there - she was very cold. "And I can always remember my dog sort of cuddled up to her." The woman was airlifted out by helicopter.