Sad news......
I am very upset as my good friend (retired searchdog) Vinny has died at the age of 10. He was a really good looking German Shepherd and was lots of fun - Kaz's best memory of Vinny was when he was training to be a search dog; his handler Ian gave her a rope tuggy toy as that was Vinny's reward. Kaz went and laid down on the ground and Vinny ran over to her but instead of barking grabbed Kaz's plait thinking it was his toy! We will all miss Vinny who was a big loveable softy.
A long time since I blogged and lots to tell you......
Kaz and Daryl have been mad again - they did another of those weird Adventure Races - this time it was in Lancashire round a quarry and on the fellside. They did pretty well and are currently lying in 10th place in the Mixed Pairs for the series so far - Kaz says she's pretty sure they wont stay there after the next 3 races! They even got a photo of her on the course -
The day after Kaz was feeling pretty tired, and had just got home and me and the Dram dog were chillin out with her when the phone went and it was Iain from the Bowland Team - he is training the Dram dog to be a trailing dog - anyway, he asked if me and Kaz were able to come and help out at a callout near Blackpool Airport for a missing man. So me and Kaz jumped in the van and left the Dram dog in the kitchen with a chewy bone for company and drove all the way down to Blackpool where we worked with searchdog Floss and her owner Ali. We searched all sorts of weird and wonderful places including a disused holiday camp and the golf course. Iain and his clever dog Mij found the man at about 8pm, but just as we were all going to go off home, the police told us that there was another callout about a mile away for a lady this time who was a bit fed up. So we ended up searching more golf courses and some other interesting ground and guess what? Iain and Mij found that lady too!! We finally got home at 1am then I had to go to work at the fire station in Kendal with Kaz because we were doing a presentation to the Incident Commanders about working with us dogs - they all seemed to enjoy it and I got loads of fuss.
Yesterday was the Training Seminar and there was a really clever lady called Dr Carri who was telling all the handlers and bodies about how us clever dogs like to learn how to do things and how not to treat us when we do things wrong - she was great - she really knows what makes us tick! Then some really great news, the Dram dog had his official testing of his trailing work - and he passed - this means that he is now a stage 4 dog (there are 14 stages before he can be on the callout list so dont get too exited yet) - but he had to show the assessors that he could be given a smell and then go and find that smell ontop of a single box and then let Daryl know that he had found the right smell on the right box! I dont say it often but he is quite clever really!
Then last night we all had a fantastic Christmas dinner which body Karen cooked - it was amazing - thanks Karen!
NOV 2011
All the news from the training weekend.....
Gosh, its been a long week and weekend - first of all we had a callout last Friday to the Pike of Blisco to look for a missing person, Kaz had come home early from work and was looking forward to a bit of a cuddle with me and the Dram dog by the fire with a soppy girly DVD when the pager went off so we got in the van and started driving towards Ambleside. Happily we got turned round pretty quick and went back to the Dram dog and the DVD!
This weekend we have all been over at Buttermere training - it has been a bit hectic to be honest - first of all we trained at Honister pass on Saturday morning and Kaz and me were looking after Bill and Ani, Glen and Molly, Ian and Keppi, Andy and Corry and Mike and Moss. All of them did really well in the areas - here's an idea of the areas they are now working at Stage 2 - body Rod was in the crags on the right hand side which have got a 'window' in - it might look easy but it wasnt!!
Then we did an evening assessment on Dalehead - me and the Dram dog had to stay in the car coz Kaz was assessing Glen from Penrith with Molly and didnt want me to bother him. Here is Mick sorting his kit out at the Cairn on Dalehead before starting to put the bodies in....
Kaz said Glen and Molly did really well. So did Andy and Corry - Christyne and Bute passed their day and night assessment and that means that they are closer to the green tag!
Today we were training near the top of Honister whilst Christyne was being assessed in Burtness Coombe - here's a picture from inside the bivvi bag that Daryl took (he bodied today)....
Then this afternoon when Kaz was watching Andy and Corry working, a lady on a bicycle had a really bad accident nearby on the road and hit the side of the road and landed on her back - Andy and Kaz and Glen and Dr Bill went to help her and the ambulance eventually turned up to take her to hospital - here's the ambulance - she landed about 5ft behind where Kaz took the photo from......she was very lucky as her husband has just rung Kaz to say that she has badly pulled muscles in her back and a bad headache!!! Get well soon Louise!! You can see the skid marks on the grass where her bike hit....
Just as I'm typing this Kaz has been talking to handler Mik Guy and we might be going out now to look for a missing man on Green/Great Gable so I'd better stop blogging now just in case I'm needed.
Anyway well done to everyone at the weekend and thanks to all the bodies who helped out!
OCT 2011
Lots to tell you all....
Well yet again its been a little while since I blogged and I really must apologise for this - its all to do with kaz taking the laptop to work so I cant get my paws on it! Anyway here goes with all the news:
Handler John Leadbetter has been pretty busy out on the Oil Platform Ula for the last couple of weeks - he's an engineer and has to tell them how to do stuff - problem is the fog came in and he couldnt get home. His searchdog (my cousin Skye) contacted me to say she was getting pretty fed up because she was missing some searches but John got home yesterday so she emailed to say she was much happier - unfortunately, I dont think John has told her that he's flying out to the Middle East (hah you humans havent got a clue - whats the Middle East?? Its either East or something else! No wonder you lot have to have us showing you around the hillside).
Then we had news from body Kath Dyer who is a member of the Kirkby Stephen MRT - she is going to be training a new puppy with us and here she is (No not quite as cute as me but alright I suppose!)
Also on the more sad side of things - handler Ric Outhwaite has retired as a handler with his dog Alpha - Ric has trained 3 dogs and been on many searches and rescues with Cockermouth MRT - Alpha is always good for a laugh but will now have more time to spend playing with Ric's son and their other dog.
Chris Francis the callout co-ordinator and Christyne Judge are nearly through their assessments and so all us searchdogs and trainees are keeping paws tightly crossed for them in the next few training weekends.....good luck Beck and Bute!!!
At the weekend Kaz and Daryl left me and the Dram dog at home with grandma and grandpa becasue they were off to compete in the next round of the Hagloffs Open 5 Adventure Race in Shropshire - Kaz says it was pretty hard - particularly the mountain biking bit (apparently other places in the country have difficult hills too). Here is Kaz not enjoying a particularly hilly bit of the run -
and Daryl running down an easy bit.....
Finally me and Kaz had a bit of a busy week since then - on Tuesday me and Kaz went to her work at the Fire Service with Chris Francis and gave talks and a demonstration of searching a river bank to some of the Incident Commanders - they all seemed to enjoy it and as we were on the way home Kaz's pager started going off fof a Penrith incident up on the Pennines - Kaz told them that she'd get a navigator on the way and so we went to Pooley Bridge to pick up Kaz's friend Serena and then we drove up to the radar station on the Pennines and started walking across towards Cross Fell - after a while we heard on the radio that the 2 missing people had been found safe and well and so we started going back to the van. As we were driving off the hill we then got a radio message to say that there was another person lost on the hill at Mardale Ill Bell - so we started to drive all the way to Haweswater to go and help - but just as we arrived we were stood down as the man had been located by a couple of team members.
This weekend we are planning a nice long walk somewhere in the hills - hooray!
Catch you later bloggers!
I know, I know, I have been soooo busy....
Its been a very long time since I last blogged and I'm really sorry but I have been a bit busy and Kaz has been away and took her laptop with her so I couldnt write anything. So here's all the news..
Two days before Kaz was due to go away to the International Alpine Rescue Conference in Sweden, we were at home and had just eaten our dinner when the pager went off for a team callout - 2 people were lost somewhere near Kentmere Pike which is on the boundary between Penrith and Kendal MRT. Kaz and Daryl and me drove down to the base then got into a landrover with Ian, Mike and body Glenn - we drove over to Haweswater and started walking up Gatescarth Pass to the top - I was really enjoying it but Kaz and Daryl were having some discssions about whether it is worse to have eaten just as the pager goes off, or to have to leave your meal - apparently they were both feeling a little bit sick. Anyway we got the top of Gatescarth and then went up Brantstreet (yes I do happen to know that is nowhere near Kentmere) but Kaz had heard the description of where the walkers thought they were and said she knew exactly where they were - near a place called Artle Crags and sure enough there they were. They were both just a bit tired and they told us on the way down that the next day they were going to buy a new torch (Kaz said that might be a good idea!).
Then Kaz went away to Sweden - it wasnt too bad I suppose cos me and the Dram dog got to play with Daryl and go on some pretty nice walks - but I was really pleased to see Kaz when she got back....here's what she did -:
....... as you can see it had started snowing very heavily - also you can see that Orsa's dog wears a muzzle -this is because the Swedish Police dogs are also trained for criminal work which means that sometimes they have to bite people so it is safer for their dogs to wear a muzzle when they are just searching for missing people. Also their dogs are trained to stay with the casualty and bark (again they dont come back because they are trained not to come back from a criminal). It was a very interesting session on the hill with demos from handlers and dogs of all levels from pups to graded dogs. The police dogs in Sweden are also trained for avalanche and other specialist work such as drugs detection.
The rest of the week was spent in workshops and presentations about all aspects of Alpine resuce including avalanche and medical areas. The highlight was on the Friday when the Lakes handlers were asked to present our work - this was done by Chris Francis in English, translated where needed by Kaz Frith into German - they were all highly amused when Kaz explained that Chris's Cumbrian dialeckt might need to be translated in to English and German!
While we were there we bumped into an old friend - Dave Benson ('Benny') a former handler with the Lakes was out at IKAR too so we did a bit of reminiscing.
The journey home was uneventful other than travelling via 3 countries back to Manchester (Sweden to Norway, Norway to Denmark and Denmark home). On arrival in Penrith Kaz made the daft decision to switch on her pager and sure enough there was a callout.....I'll let Dottie continue.....
So, Kaz had just come through the door and had been cuddling us all (even Daryl) when she made the mistake of switching her pager back on - within 10 minutes it went off for a callout to the Greystoke Forest for a missing husky racer - she grabbed me and a rucksack and we went down to the base - we were just on the way to the RV point when we got a radio message to say that the man had returned which was good news!
Then on Tuesday nite we all went to Training over at Whinlatter and we had a great time running around the woods - the Dram dog and Daryl came along too. Just as we got back to the cars and were about to come home - yep there was a callout to help Keswick team look for 4 missing people on Glaramara! We all drove over to the base - me and Kaz (Daryl was to navigate and Dram dog was to stay in the car), Mik and Ginny, Laura and Jake and Elly and Meg. Me and Kaz were sent off with one group and Daryl to go up towards the summit from one way and Elly and Meg the other way - the other dogs were kept back as Wasdale team had contacted Keswick to ask for help with an injured walker on Scafell so Laura and Jake and Mik and Ginny (as well as Penny and her dogs Pip and Ollie who were out) were all retasked. After a long walk up we met up with the party coming the other way who had found the missing people so we helped get them off - some of the ground is a little craggy and steep so Kaz and the others helped them come down safely.
We didnt get off the hill till midnight - then we heard that Elly and Mik and Laura had gone to another job on Bowscale for some missing people - blimey what a night!
Since then we've had a bit of a rest - we went for a run today with kaz and Serena and her 4 dogs on Helton - it was about 4 miles but is was very rainy and muddy - great! Kaz keeps banishing us to the kitchen because me and the Dram dog are so dirty!
Anyway - really sorry for not blogging sooner - speak soon!
I spoke too soon, Kaz is due to go away and Chris and Christyne get some more passes....
Now what did I say about it all being quiet - me and Kaz were just settling into a game of wrestling on the rug because she'd just go home and I wanted to play, whilst Daryl and the Dram dog were outside playing Dram's new searching game, when the dog pager went off for us to look for a missing girl in Winderemere. Kaz rang Langdake base to let them know we were coming and thenwent outside and told Daryl we were off and we got in to the car pretty quick - as we were on the way we got a message to say that the girl had been found which is really good news. We turned back and went home and I had some tea - and resumed my game with Kaz (after she gave in under a large amount of hassling by me).
It was the training weekend at Seathwaite - me and Kaz didnt go as Kaz has a bad tooth at the moment and was in a bit of pain. But the really good news is that Chris and Beck and Christyne and Bute picked up 2 passes each which means Chris now has 3 passes and Christyne has 5 - not long to go now!
I'm a bit miffed as Kaz has just informed me that she is off to Sweden next week for 5 days to go to the International Search and Rescue Conference - she will be going with Chair Mike Hadwin, and the Callout Co-ordinator Chris Francis and will be giving presentations on how us dogs in the UK work. I am decidedly not impressed as the Dram dog keeps telling me that him and Daryl are going to be having boys-nights! Hmmmm we'll see about that.
A quiet time for the dogs....
Kaz is very pleased that it has been a very quiet time for us searchdogs - she says that it is good that people are safe and well on the hills, although I do miss getting up at 2 in the morning and going off searching....funny, Kaz doesnt!
Anyway there is one team that seems to be very busy at the moment and that is the poor Wasdale team - they cover the area that takes in Scafell which is part of the 3 peak challenge. Problem is that the challenge is very popular and there are lots of people getting lost as in the main people are doing that hill right in the middle of the 24 hour period. Poor Penny and her dogs Ollie and Pippi are a one man rescue team at the moment. (Well one woman and 2 dogs).
So although it has been pretty quiet here, Kaz and Daryl have been doing the usual amount of mad stuff. Last weekend they competed in the Hagloffs Open 5 Adventure Race at Staveley (5 hours of biking and running) - when they started off they bumped into handler Laura who was doing the course as well, and what with all the MR people who were acting as medics and marshalls they seemed to know loads of people the whole way round. Still everyone had a good day.
Yesterday was kazs birthday - she has now stopped saying how old she is any more! I gave Kaz a big lick on the face when she was lying in bed but that didnt seem to please her. We had a nice day though, we all went out and had a nice walk and then in the afternoon grandpa and grandma came over to see us all.
SEP 2011
Another holiday and its all been very busy for everyone back home...
I thought that Kaz and Daryl were acting a bit strange - they started getting bags out from the loft upstairs and packing stuff - so I guessed that we'd be going on our holidays again - lovely! But before we could go me and Kaz had to do a bit of work by going to the Womens Institute at Gamblesby and giving a talk (Kaz) and demo (Me, on video) of the work of the searchdogs. It went well and I'd even managed to snaffle a couple of biscuits when just as Kaz was finishing with the ususal round of questions the team pager went off - well, I just thought she was mucking about but she wasnt! It was for real - there were some people missing on the Coast to Coast somewhere before Alston - so we made our excuses and went to the base - but just as we got there and were about to get our search area, they turned up safe and sound. Thanks to the ladies at the WI who gave us £50 as a donation and a promise of more biccies for me next time!
On Saturday we got up mega early and left in the van for a place called Skye - funny that they've named an island in Scotland after a retired searchdog and one of the current searchdogs! Anyway we were going to spend a week in a cottage near Dunvegan - here is is (it was very remote and loads of fun cos me and the Dram dog could run around all over the big garden).
We did lots of stuff and were real tourists - the Old Man of Storr was really neat! Heres me and Kaz looking at the view - this was before the heavens opened up!
The Dram dog got in on the act and really enjoyed himself too - here it is peering round Daryl!
So whilst we were having fun on Skye it has been a busy old time for the rest of the searchdogs - there were 4 more callouts - 2 for Wasdale, 1 for Penrith, 1 for SARDA England - sorry I wasnt there but it woould have been a really long old drive over from Skye. So now I've told Kaz to switch the pager back on - she wasnt that keen - funny that!
Its all been a bit busy...
I watched the England rugby game on Saturday - now I'm not sure if you know about Kaz's background playing and refereeing rugby, but she's a great fan. I have to say I too have picked up a few things - so here I am watching the game (this links you to Facebook) click HERE. Kaz thinks I was a bit harsh on Johnny Wilkinson.
We had the training weekend this weekend - me and Kaz and the Dram dog went and helped with the stage 2 dogs - Glen and Molly, Simon and Molly (not really confusing), Andy and Corrie and Ian and Keppi. They all did really brill despite all the rain - and I even had a quick run about just to show these young upstarts that I still can!
The good news is that Christyne and Bute and Chris and Beck both passed an assessment - hooray!
Here's a great picture of the Dram dog being held down in a headlock by Bute (someone needs to put him in his place!)
Sorry Dot fans but its been manic here at home since we got back from Scotland - 2 weekends ago we went to a place called Smelt Mill for the Dram dog to go and learn all about this trailing thing he's going to be doing. I went as well just to keep an eye on him - blimey it was very technical - the handlers who are going to be training their dogs to follow trails are from all over the UK and they had all sorts of dogs with them, not just us proper dogs (collies). On the first day the dogs were allowed to have a play about whilst the handlers learnt all about the science of scent (Kaz and Daryl said that their eyeballs were bleeding after a few hours).
Then Iain Nicholson (who handles my clever friend Mij) went and set out a trail by getting a lovely lady called Pippa to walk through a river, up and down a fellside, through some fields and ending up in a carpark (not only did Pippa walk the trail but loads of us were walking all over it too - us dogs couldnt beleive that Mij was going to be able to find just Pippas smell and lead Iain to her after we'd tramped all over the place). Then that trail was to be left for 24 hours. The next day we watched some demonstrations and learnt how Dram will start to train to discriminate one scent from another (he has started this now - I am actually quite impressed...daryl will put a different scent on each of 4 boxes which contain a reward. Dram is then given a smell of one of the scents and he has to walk along the line of boxes and lie down at the right one - And he's actually doing it!). Anyway - after the 24 hours during which it threw it down with rain, we all watched Mij and Iain and they only went and followed the trail right to the end and then found Pippa amongst a load of people. Blimey if Dram can eventually do that I'll be well impressed. It was a great weekend.
AUG 2011
West Highland Way Adventures....
We have all been on our hols and I cant wait to tell you all about it -
A little while ago Kaz and Daryl told me and the dram dog that they had decided to walk the length of the West Highland Way (Glasgow to Fortwilliam) with handler John Leadbetter and Lakes Searchdog Vet Clair Williams and their dogs (Skye and Islay) to raise the profile of what us dogs do. So last weekend we set off to Glasgow in the cars and left a little town called Milngavie early in the morning....Kaz and Daryl and John and Clair were moaning lots about the weight of the bags - apparently it was something to do with the amount of dog food they were carrying.
It all started well - the sun shone and it was nice to run along in the park - Kaz and Dary werent too impressed with me when I jumped in a smelly boggy bit about a mile into the walk - Islay did as well so we were both told off. We arrived at Drymen on our first night - all the humans were tired - cant think why - but they cheered up when they found the pub was right next door!
Then we set off to Rowardennan on the banks of Loch Lomond - it was very pretty - we had to walk up a hill called Connick Hill which was great fun and the weather was very hot.
The next day we walked along the banks of the Loch passing a place called Rob Roys cave where we tried to find him (no luck) and then onto a place called Beinglas which is near the Drovers Inn and we stayed in our tents and got very midgy - Kaz moaned as her toenail was looking a bit dodgy and Clair had a big blister, but we carried on.
After that we walked on to Strathfillan which is just outside Crianlarich and we stayed in some Wigwams which were cool but no indians around! Kaz cooked us all a really nice meal of Ostrich and Venison.
Then we walked on to a place called Tyndrum where we stopped for breakfast at the Green Welly Stop and met the lovely lady Fiona and her staff who gave us lots of fuss
We then carried on the path to the Bridge of Orchy and met a Highland Cow who was a monster - but quite nice.
That night we stayed on the platform of the station in a bunk house and had a great time.
The next day we walked over Rannoch Moor in the sunshine to Glencoe Village and stayed at the Kingshouse Hotel which was great as we were inside and the midges were outside!
The next day we got up early to do the walk over to Kinlochleven via a scary sounding thing called the Devils Staircase - well, it wasnt that scary...
I have to say we didnt enjoy the walk into Kinlochleven as the path was more or less a road for quite a long while but we chilled at the Ice Factor (Get it...chilled!)
We stayed at some more wooden huts in the evening and despite the midges it was really nice (apparently the food was fantastic here).
Then we did the final walk over to Fortwilliam through Larig Mor which was pretty stunning and we enjoyed running in an out of the water loads. When we saw Ben Nevis we knew we were nearly there and were pretty happy - poor Dram Dog and Islay had cut their paws a bit and so they were beginning to get a bit sore.
We eventually made it and had a really good nights sleep before getting the train back to Milngavie - blimey it was a bit crowded with us 4 dogs and the humans all round 1 table - but we got loads of fuss and me and the Dram dog sat on kaz and Daryls laps most of the way back (...yes dont we know it our knees and legs were killing us!)
It was a great walk and we met some lovely people on the way who have donated money to us. I'm going to have a bit of a rest today and then I'll get Kaz to switch on the pager and I'll be ready to go out on searches again!
A training weekend in the wet and Dram gives us some news....
This weekend it was the training weekend at Haweswater - the weather was pretty rubbish with lots of rain and it was even a little cold...yep, welcome to the English summer time! Anyway - there were quite a few dogs training - at Stage 1 Ian and Keppi did really well and have now moved up to stage 2 after demonstrating that they can search and do the 'find' sequence really well. Steve and his puppy Blaze also did well, but Steve had a really bad slip and sliced open his hand badly - he managed to do both days, but it did look painful. Bill and his dog Ani seemed to be good and at Stage 2 Chris and Beck had a good time up at Small Water and Blea Water - here they are
Christyne and her dog Bute passed their second assessment on Saturday, and on Sunday Kaz and Mick assessed them - I was there to offer my comments too - They both did really well and worked two areas up at Small Water - here they are getting ready to start:
I was allowed to go and find body Suzanne - she is really nice and plays lots with me so I rushed round the side of Small Water and even swam a bit and when I got there I barked loads!
Then me and my big sis Ginny and retired searchdog Mist got a bit bored and so we posed on a rock until Kaz took a photo - dont we look great!
Finally there was a bit of a surprise announcement from Dram dog this week - apparently him and Daryl have been having a bit of a chat about his progress; Dram doesnt really like barking at people and he is also a very slow dog and doesnt like going too far away from Daryl, but he really has a great sense of smell and can perhaps do something else - so they have decided that Dram dog is going to have a go at Trailing instead of airscenting - this means that the Dram dog will learn how to follow the scent of a person along a trail - even when it is a lot of hours since the person went that way - this is can be very helpful, for example, when a missing person has left a car in a carpark and we need to work out which way they walked after leaving the car. We dont have any trainers for this in the Lake District so Daryl and Dram dog will be training with Iain Nicholson from the Bowland Pennine team who alongside his dog Mij are very experienced in this discipline. Daryl has started doing some exercises and so I will be letting you know how he gets on!
A bit of wet weather never hurt anyone....
Good grief - anyone would think it was fast approaching Autumn now - what with the rain and the colder mornings. On Friday night Kaz and Daryl got woken up by their team pager at 2.45am to go and help the ambulance people with a hurt man near Brampton. Luckily me and the Dram dog just had to have a snooze at home in bed while those two went off. Kaz says it was a fairly long event - and they eventually came home at about 6.30am just as the sun was rising. Now, clearly thats the time when me and the Dram dog normally get a bit of breakfast and a leg stretch, but they only let us out for a quick wee and then went off to bed. Eventually, at 11, I got the Dram dog to bark really loudly and Kaz got up and fed us and then played with us in the garden.
Kaz was wondering if her bum looks big in the Cas Bag? For all you non Mountain Rescue people, the case bag is the thing in the rucksack on the right - sort of a really big sleeping bag. I think Kaz was getting a bit sarky cos the policeman was clearly having difficulty carrying the heavy torch.
Today me and the Dram dog have been running with Kaz up on the fell at Helton - she is all please with herself as she did the run in 49mins which is her quickest time yet. It was very wet and muddy and me and the Dram dog have been banned to the kitchen to dry off - so if there are any odd words on this blog, it may be the water that's dripping off my paws in to the keyboard! I got a bit delayed cos Kaz has just in and out of the kitchen telling me she is off to a callout for a man with breathing difficulties on Knock Fell........me and the Dram dog plan to have a bit of a chill while shes out. See ya soon Dot fans
You humans are dead weird and another callout....
As I said in my last blog, Daryl and Kaz were asked to go to Lowther near Penrith to do some fundraising with Mountain Rescue - frankly you lot are nuts! What they (and a couple more people from Kendal and Penrith teams) ended up doing was breaking up the worlds largest Kendal Mint Cake with Ice Axes in the middle of the Kendal Calling music festival in front of thousands of very bemused (if not slightly addled) people. I really am not associated with them. Anyway here they are -
Last night Kaz was home late from work - something to do with a new telephone system shes putting in, anyway she rushed through the door and grabbed her rucksack whilst telling me we were off to a search for a missing man at Muncaster Castle - now, I'm not usre just how good you lot are at geography, but Penrith to Muncaster is just about the most awkward route you can get. Still she got me into the car and we set off for the 80 minute drive. Just as we arrived at Muncaster at about 8.30pm Kaz heard on the radio that the man had been found safe and well at home in Windermere, so we turned round and came all the way back. What was nice though was that Kaz stopped at Kirkland and we had a nice walk on the fell before we got home.
Today me and the Dram dog are mostly chillin and Kaz is not -she is going back for day 3 of her 17 day telephone project. Hey ho - back to my toy....
JULY 2011
Couple of callouts and some fun on the hill....
Me and Kaz have had a couple of callouts this week. First was on Tuesday night just as me and her were up on the hill at Whinlatter looking for body Terry. Kazs pager went off for a team callout to look for a missing mountain biker on the Pennines. Daryl and the Dram dog had been working on the other side of the hill and I could hear Daryls pager go off too. Body Glenn who is on the team also had his pager blaring out. So we all hurried down to the carpark and drove back over to Penrith. We got the base and Kaz and Daryl went upstairs for the briefing while me and the Dram dog stopped in the car. Kaz came back pretty quickly and told me that the man had just been found and that we could go home.
Then yesterday there was a callout for a missing man in Alston - Kaz came home from work and picked me up - the Dram dog wasnt too impressed as he was going to be left at home. Kaz infomed me that we had to drive over to Alston which is 20 miles away and help search for a man. It was very hot and there wasnt alot of wind which doesnt really help us searchdogs too much. Anyway we met with handler Mike Hadwin and 2 handlers from SARDA England at the Police Station and we decided how we were going to work it. The other were going to go in from a track north of the Grey Nab and me and Kaz picked the short straw and were walking in from the South. Blimey it was flamin hard work - there are a lot of tussocks and hidden holes - one of which my idiot owner fell into which had barbed wire in and she managed to get hooked up and cut her leg and rip her trousers......doh! We worked a really long time (nearly 6 hours) and didnt find anything - except for a drink of juice on a footbridge which had been left for Kaz by Scott from the Teasdale team (Kaz says thanks by the way). Heres the area me and Kaz searched.....
anyway today Kaz had a pager to say that the man had been found safe and well by the police.
I have to say I was a bit tired today but me and the Dram dog and Kaz and Daryl met up with handler John Leadbetter and his fiance Clare, we also met up with handler Alison Nicholson from SARDA England and the Trailing handler Iain Nicholson and had some fun around Red Screes at Kirkstone pass.
Tonight me and the Dram dog are chilling and tomorrow we are putting in an appearance at the Kendal Calling festival where Kaz and Daryl and 2 other Penrith Team members are going to be demolishing the worlds largest Kendal Mint cake with Ice Axes - I really really havent a clue - you'll have to ask Kaz why!
Anyway, my bed is calling.....take it easy Dot fans
Quiet times for us....
It's been pretty quiet on the dog callout front here in the Lakes. Kaz seems quite glad about that cos her and Daryl have been doing more stuff on the house (can you humans not stop - honestly all us dogs need are a bowl for water and food, a cuddly blanket (and a tennis ball). They have been putting up gates and fences to stop the Dram dog getting out of the garden. If it was actually behaved then they'd not have to go to all that expense! here I am checking out the new gates.....
So, a quiet week really, apart from Thursday when Kaz was just coming back from work and the dog pager went off for a callout in Stranraer (which is an awful way away - actually in a different country). So she picked me up and we started driving up the road to look for a missing man. Searchdog Fly and his handler Mike were also on their way to help, but Callout Co-ordinator Chris rang us to let us know that he'd been found so we went back home again.
Since then we've been for a couple of runs on the fell with Kaz and her friend from Penrith team Serena and her 4 mad dogs. Kaz and Serena told me some bad news - do you remember the rotweiler Heidi who I used to go running with, well she got ill from cancer and died last week. I was very sad as she was a lovely dog and a friend.
Dram still on the mend, but now others are a bit worse for wear, a fun weekend and another callout....!
So now that the Dram dog is finally on the mend, Kaz and Daryl are a little less fraught. Although I have to say that I'm not too sure that I really needed a dose of medicine for 10 days too! (...oh you do Dot - the vet told us to make sure you werent infected either). The bad news is that some of the other searchdogs are now poorly - Rosie has managed to run into a stick which peirced her tummy, Meg has torn a muscle in her shoulder and Kitt has hurt her leg too. Blimey, we're dropping like flies round here. Kaz says I must wish all of them get well soon and lots of woofs from me and the Dram dog! In the week, Kaz has been busy at work and on Wednesday night got home and decided to have an early night. I did try to warn her but she wouldnt listen....sure enough at about midnight the dog pager went off for a callout in Dumfries and Galloway for a missing person near a hospital. Me and Kaz got in the car, while the Dram dog blinked a bit and was wondering what was going on. On the way we met up with Searchdog Ginny and Mick (a bit of deja vue from a few weeks ago this) and we made our way up to Dumfries infirmary. About an hour and a half later, just as we were parking up next to the Police van, we were told that the person had been found - good news (well not for Kaz and Mick cos they had to drive back again). We got home at about 4.30am and kaz slept in the spare room so she didnt wake Daryl up - when he got up in the morning he didnt even realise we'd been out so was a bit confused about why she'd moved beds!
The yesterday, we went over to Robins Hood Bay and me and the Dram dog ran about on the beach and got really sandy - it was great - apart from when me and the Dram dog thought that the round thing floating was a ball for us to play with, but we couldnt get it into our mouths.....
Today me and the Dram dog and Kaz and Lisa from the Penrith team went for a run in the pouring rain up on Helton Fell - it was pretty good for us as me and the Dram dog just went mad running and rolling in the puddles.
Anyways enough from me for now.....take it easy Dot fans
Dram gets a bit better, a training weekend and another callout....!
The Dram Dog has been having lots of tests at the Vets. We have now been told that he has had Campylabacter - some sort of tummy big - poor old thing, so he's been put on antibiotics (which are pretty good cos they taste like strawberries). He is also lacking in vitamin B12 so is having 4 weeks of injections. Kaz has already commented that he is really full of beans now....hmmm, I'm not so sure I like this new and improved Dram dog! We were due to have training at Coniston this weekend so Kaz and Daryl were busy packing the car and sorting out stuff on Friday night when the dog pager went off for a callout for a missing man on Greenup Edge at about 10.30pm. It was quite a hot and muggy and wet night and me and Kaz drove over to Keswick base and were met by my big sis Ginny and her handler Mick. Chris our callout co-ordinator was going to drive us up the valley in the landrover and be our radio man. Searchdog Ske was coming in from Easedale and searchdog Jake and Laura from Stake Pass. Me and Ginny and Mick and Kaz set off from Seathwaite camp site and slogged up the hill - me and Ginny had a great time - not so for Kaz and Mick who were hot and wet (and swallowing flies - dont ask me ask Kaz!) - we walked for a long time and suddenly me and Ginny smelt a person and ran up toi them and barked - it wasnt the missing person..it was a couple of Langdale team members. They continued back towards Greenup Edge while me and Ginny waited for Mick and Kaz to catch up. About 3 minutes later we heard on the radio that the 2 Langdale team members found the missing man so we were able to turn around and go home. On the way down we radioed Chris in the Landrover to make sure he was still awake and then eventually me and kaz got home around 4.30am and had a good old snooze. Here's a couple of pics of the walk in (in daylight) and Lining Crag which looks quite nice in the sun but at night turned into a very wet and slippy rocky outcrop for the humans!
The next day was training at Coniston so the Dram dog and Daryl drove over while Kaz and I slept in. Apparantly the Dram dog did really well - Kaz and Daryl think he has been pretty poorly for some time which may have affected his training (personally I dont think they should give him any excuses). All of the others did really well, especially Christyne with her trainee Bute who passed their pre-assessment test.
We stayed over in Coniston and had a BBQ - and that was fun - we got to meet puppy Loch who is going to be training with Paul and she was (and I dont like to admit this) very cute for a puppy.
On Sunday, me and Kaz went up to Blind Tarn to assess the stage 2 dogs - we had to look after Molly and Glen and Corrie and Andy. Both of them did really well, we set them a couple of 'interesting' areas which they both managed. Kaz was particularly pleased as Molly and Glen are in the Penrith team and Kaz is always saying she cant wait for another dog team to grade.
The other good news is that Bute and Christyne did their first assessment in the Tilberthwaite/Wetherlam area and passed - hooray!
Handler Laura asked me to stick a couple of photos on and this is what she said to tell you....
Last week-end 'body David' and 'dog Laura' set off up Scafell Pike for the second time in 36 hours to retrieve the orienteering punch from the summit trig point which they had placed there 36 hours previously. This was part of their marshalling duty of the Barmouth to Fort William Three Peaks Yacht Race. This race, as it's name suggests, sees teams of 5 competitors in each team racing to the summits of the three highest Peaks in Wales, England and Scotland. The only difference being is that they sail between the three stages of the race and run up and down Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis from their boats ie. sea level! In a lighthearted way of assessing the environmental impact of the hundreds of other Three Peaks participants, Laura, David and Steve (Laura's Dad) counted banana skins on the way up the Pike. 13 was the grand total on their first time up the mountain. The second time up, which took them up Mickledore, a less popular route gave them the grand total of 4 banana skins. But to their surprise on their way down search dog Jake came across the top banana! Happily making his way down the scree towards Pier's Ghyll, this banana was part of a group of lads, taking part in their own Three Peaks Challenge, raising money for Water Aid and travelling between the peaks by public transport! Under his banana outfit he was well equipped for the terrain and conditions and added an interesting dimension to the descent! It's amazing what you find when you're out walking.
Laura and David on Scafell.....
Jake and the Banana.....
JUNE 2011
New arrivals and Dram is poorly....!
Kaz and me have been a bit busy - we had a call out over to help out Galloway team on a callout. It was the middle of the night and Kaz was frankly half asleep - luckily Mik and Ginny met up with us on the motorway and we travelled in a doggy convoy. We were going to Rockcliffe to look for a missing elderly man. The weather was pretty horrid - lots of rain. Just as we were arriving, we were told that the man had been found safe and well, hooray. So we drove back down and stopped at the services for Kaz and Mik to have a cup of tea and then finally got home and went to bed. Dram was very annoyed at me for going out.
Then we went to the training weekend at Barbon which was fun - Kaz only came and helped out on one of the days, on the Sunday she and handler John Leadbetter and bodies Helen Ash and Kim Chick swam the Great North Swim in Windermere - 1 mile. Handler Christyne Judge-Hall had done it the previous day. Poor old Kaz was struggling a bit with her bad shoulder so swam round mostly doing some sort of side stroke, but finished in the end. Helen and Christyne posted really excellent times!
Here's John, Kaz and Kim
Then on the weekend it was Grandpa and Grandmas 50th wedding anniversary - kaz explained that theyd been together for the equivalent of 350 years - blimey! Kaz and Daryl took them out for the day and they ended up at the Sharrow Bay hotel for afternoon tea which sounded really nice. Just as they all got home, the pager went off for the dogs to help the Cockermouth team to look for a missing man on Pillar. me and Kaz set off with Daryl as our navigator and grandpa and grandma stayed at home to look after the Dram dog. (I think searchdog Jake and Corrie were already there), but just as we were arriving in Cockermouth we got told he'd been found so we went home again.
Since then there has been 3 other callouts - Kaz had forgotten to switch her pager back on after a meeting so missed a callout in Duddon for a missing man. Ginny and Kitt and Einich went to that one but sadly the man was found dead by a couple of team members. Kaz and I also missed a callout to the Bowland Pennine area cos she was in a meeting. Ginny went and luckily the man was found safe and well. The last night Einich was out with the Coniston team looking for someone, but again they were found really quick. All in all the dogs are now on 42 callouts this year which is looking like a record year for us.
The bad news this week is that a couple of us dogs have been ill. Searchdog Meg has strained a shoulder muscle, trainee searchdog Molly has had a poorly tummy and so has the Dram dog - he even ended up in the vets with a needle in him to help him feel better. He is still not quite right and the vet has taken stuff (honest, dont ask) from him to be tested.
The good news is that handler Penny Kirby has the plaster off her poorly wrist on Monday so should be back on call, and we have 2 new puppies about to join us.....here they are:
Puppy Ted - who belongs to Roger Pickup
Puppy Loch who belongs to Paul O'Mahoney
Arent they cute - i bet they'll get lots of attention at the next training weekend!!!
MAY 2011
Kaz has a car crash and we get injections....!
Kaz and me and the Dram dog have been really enjoying the morning runs with the others - well, put it this way, me and the Dram dog have been, I'm not so sure that Kaz has really! As you can see the Dram dog has made a bit of a friend with Heidi the Rotweiller and Kaz tokk 5 mins out to rest (and then refused to get up again!...although her excuse was that it was about 22 deg)
It's been pretty quite on the dog callout front lately, which Kaz has made the most of and so last weekend we had a few people round dinner and fun on the Wii - it was a long old night and frankly the humans made complete fools of themselves whilst me and the Dram dog watched..this was Lisa doing the skiing race
Then the following day we all had to get up early to go and do team training - we also had 2 of the paramedics Lisa and Helen joining us - they are lovely and Heidi the Rotwieller belongs to Helen so I know her really well and she makes loads of fuss of me and the Dram dog. We did some practice at searching for the casualty and then Kaz had to do some first aid and then we also practiced going up and down on ropes to save someone - a good day all round. Here's me and Kaz and our navigator Mike doing a hasty search and after we've found our casualty, Mike who was a great laugh.
Then Kaz had to go to work in Warrington and so after we'd been for a run in the morning she left in the rain to go. Apparently when she got to the motorway roundabout a big lorry drove into the back of the van and made a bit of a mess - but it also made Kaz's neck really sore and so the Police came and then the ambulance people who took Kaz to hospital. The van has now been taken away for making it all better and Kaz is getting some physiotherapy on the neck, and is doing a lot of moaning about it!
Then the other night, Kaz and Daryl took me and the Dram dog to see the SARDA vets Helen and Claire - as usual, Dram was all over Helen til he realised she was going to stick a needle in him and then he really became a woos! We were both told that we are in A1 condition - I knew that anyway, but it's good to know it.
Dram did a little bit of training this week and was really good - body Karen took some piccies of him barking at her and then looking for Daryl to go and tell him he'd found her.
Yesterday me and Kaz went over to Ambleside to meet up with searchdog Skye and handler John to try on wetsuits - They are swimming the Great North Swim (1 mile in Lake Windermere) next week. Kaz was really nice to John and didnt take a photo of him, but he took one of her and offered to help her out by finding a shoe-horn!
A callout and some fun at a demo......and handler Penny Kirby breaks her wrist on a callout!
We had quite a nice week - me and Kaz and the Dram dog went out running on Helton fell with Penrith team member Serena and her 3 collies called Flint, Jack and D'arcy and we also wetn with our other friend Helen and her Rottweiler Heidi - it was great we ran around like lunatics! Then on
Friday night - Kaz and Daryl had been out for dinner with some people off the rescue team - they got back at about midnight and we all went to bed - at about 1:45am I heard Kaz's pager go off - it was the sound that means a dog callout. Eventually (!) she got up and came in the kitchen and told me we were going to help search on Blencathra for a missing fell runner. It was a horrid night - raining and windy, but we got in the car and drove over to the rendezvous point. We met up with Keswick team member Karen who gave me a load of fuss and we set off up the path onto Halls Fell ridge - Kaz kept making me go right into Gate Ghyll - it was very steep and Kaz found it quite slippy especially on the slabs of rock. After a while though we heard that the man had been found by some Keswick team members. He had head and arm injuries and was very lucky that the team members heard him. We were told to go back down and pick up the ropes and other things and we set off. We were on the way down when we met up with handler Mik (my big sis Ginny) and he told us that he'd slipped over and hurt his knee badly. So Kaz helped Mik down whilst poor old Karen had to take a load of stuff up to the casualty. Eventually the RAF helicopter arrived and evacuated him - he was very lucky it was a terrible night. Me and Kaz got home about 5.30am and Kaz got a little sleep - the Dram dog kept asking me what had happened but I told him to go back to sleep! Kaz rang Mik in the morning and his knee is ok but a bit sore.
Then we heard that while we were out on the callout, handler Penny Kirby and her dogs Ollie and Pippi had been on a callout and they found the missing people. But on the way down, she slipped and fell and broke her wrist! Apparently she was working in bad weather too - so in the space of 1 nght, 2 handlers had injuries! Get well Mik and Penny.
Today, me and Kaz and the Dram dog and Daryl went to the Eden Animal rescue centre and did a dog demo - handler Simon, with trainee searcgdog Molly and body Jackie came too - it was a lot of fun and me and Molly did a pretty good job and everyone seemed to like it.
A sad day, but some good news
We all went to hander Dave Watts funeral - there were over 100 mountain rescue members and then 34 of us dogs - we were all very well behaved and we said goodbye to Dave. We formed a guard of honour.
Training, and callouts......
Me and Kaz and the Dram dog and Daryl went over to training on Tuesday night. Great fun - Dram dog did really well and found his bodies and barked loudly - then newly graded searchdog Meg went off to find the bodies and was really good - here she is looking pretty pleased with herself. Kaz and I got a bit cold standing around watching so Kaz chucked me over the fence to have a run around but I decided that she needed reminding that I'm an ace searchdog so I ran over the entire area you can see in the background, into body Rosemary who was in the woods (out of photo on the right)and then back to Kaz who had forgotten about me and was chatting by the fence still - she got a bit of a shock when I barked at her and made her come and find Rosemary.....come to think of it she just waited til I'd escorted Rosemary out of the area!
We all started going home then the pager went off for a callout to the Crinkles in Langdale - Elly and Meg set off for Langdale base and we heard on the radio that Steve and Rosie, Joy and Einich, Olly and Kitt and Nick and Sam were all on the way - Kaz and I had to drop Daryl home first and were then going to travel back to Langdale but we werent needed and the man was found ok - but just not in the area everyone was searching.
On Wednesday night Kaz and Daryl had team training which was to be an incident exercise near Penrith so I was to look for the person and they were then supposed to do the first aid. Me and Kaz and Serena went up the path and searched and we came across a person laying down with bruises and a head injury - so i barked loudly and Kaz and Serena took over doing everything. Eventually they got Lisa the casualty sorted out - and here I am making sure that she was ok (she was!)
Finally tonight, (Thursday) Kaz and Daryl and me and the Dram dog had gone to bed when the pager went off at midnight for a search for a man on Pillar. Kaz and me got ourselves ready and started off, but we hadnt gone very far when Chris the callout co-ordinator phoned to say he'd been found - good news! Anyways I'd better go as kaz is moaning that it's 0135hrs and she cant sleep because of the tapping on the keybpard .... huh!
A day of remembering.......
A visit to ExmoorJust before our sad news me and Kaz and the Dram dog travelled down to Exmoor - blimey - that was a verrrryyyy long way to go but we eventually arrived and stayed on a farm with a really nice family for a couple of days - me and the Dram dog had great fun - we went on the beach and on the moors for long walks - here's us with Kaz on Dunkerry Hill. The Dram dog was a bit scared of the surf but eventually he got the hang of timing his jump into the waves.
Sad, sad news
Yesterday was a very sad day for all of us. Handler Dave Watt died in a plane crash near his home and then searchdog Beinn was taken ill and died suddenly at home with his handler Roger, so Kaz has asked me if she could type today's dog blog entry.
6/5/11 How do you ever put into words the deep sadness when you learn of the death of close friends?
Dave was a close friend - the SARDA bond between the dog handlers, trainees and the bodies is a very tight one and therefore his death has hit us all hard. I have worked with Dave at various searches and have had moments of sheer frustration when his sense of humour and navigational 'eccentricities' tested my patience. I have also shared times of reflection with him when we talked of the world outside of Mountain Rescue and I learned of his amazing voluntary work the people of other countries, his love of singing but mostly his capacity to care so very much for his fellow man. I am honoured to have known Dave, and can look back at our times together with a smile on my face.
At the same time of learning about Dave's death, I was told about searchdog Beinn. Although the death of our searchdogs is inevitable - the relationship between handlers and dogs is a truely remarkable one and will always make the parting even more difficult. Roger's love for Beinn and his innate trust in his dog was obvious - Beinn also attracted some attention from the ladies in the team - although as Roger was proud to admit, Dottie was the one he truely fancied. The short life Beinn had was filled with love, and many many walks with his partner Roger - he was a fantastic searchdog and a true friend to Roger.
I hope Dotties dog blog followers will understand if the blog does not get updated for few days.
APR 2011
Street collection and a nice walk....
Yesterday was Easter Sunday and us dogs (plus the humans of course) went over to Keswick to do our annual Easter collection. We had a nice time and body Terry bought us all lots of nice things to eat. We met loads of nice people who donated a total of £750 to the searchdogs and who also bought some of our searchdog puppies - my version got sold lots! The only problem was that big sister Ginny and her handler Mick kept having to leave, because apparantly Keswick team were being a bit busy for callouts and they had 4. After Ginny got back for the 2nd time she told me some really great news - she found a missing person last night. There was a callout for a missing man and his son somewhere on the central fells - Ginny and Mick went up the Seathwaite path to Styhead and suddenly Ginny said she could smell a person and ran behind a wall and there they were. Well done Ginny! Also well done to Meg and Elly - it was the first callout for them since they graded last week.
Today me and Kaz and Daryl and the Dram dog went for a walk up to Loadpot Hill as it was such a nice day - here are me and the Dram dog at the Trig point with Daryl
After we came off the hill we met up with another Penrith team member Serena and her partner for a drink (they had the drink, me and the Dram dog had a fuss and a crisp or two!). Now we are both chilling out in the lounge.
Being a tourist....
Its been a really nice week - first of all the weather has been nice and me and the Dram dog have had some good walks in the evenings with Kaz and Daryl. We went training on Tuesday - all of us had fun - me and Kaz searched for 3 people - I was dead quick - a bit too quick cos I overshot the jacket that Mick had hidden - but it was ok in the end cos I found it on the way back. Kaz and I had a chat about me slowing down a bit and not rushing everywhere. The Dram dog had a good time too - he managed to find the bodies quickly and barked like crazy so he is definitely coming along.
Then on Wednesday night we went up near Martindale and walked up in the crags near Harter fell. Daryl and the Dram dog took one route up the steep bit so Dram could get used to the steep ground and me and Kaz went another way. Dram told me he really enjoyed it, here he is having a bit of a rest at the top - please excuse his tongue hanging out.......
After the walk, we were just on our way home at about 7.30pm, when Kaz got a phone call from Chris the callout coordinator who was asking whether me and Kaz could drive up to Dalbeattie in Scotland to help look for a missing man. He told Kaz that the Police were deciding whether or not to go ahead with getting us all up immediately and that we'd have to wait for them to call and confirm. Mick and Ginny were also asked. So me and Kaz sat at home waiting for a call, but about 9.30pm we were told we werent needed so we assume that he was found.
This weekend has been nice, my grandma Joan came up to visit - she is Daryls mum. We went out for a trip on the Ullswater Steamer - here's me and the Dram dog makiong sure Daryl doesnt fall overboard.....
After the boat trip we went home and my grandma and grandpa (Kazs mum and dad) came over for tea. Now, Kaz has a theory about human men; apparently they dont ever do any cooking but as soon as a thing called a BBQ comes out (some sort of fire), they jump to life and turn into Gordon Ramsey (without the swearing)..... and sure enough here's Daryl doing a great impression of ready steady cook..... and a piccy of us all chilling in the garden. Wot a nice day we had.
Then to continue the tourism theme, today we went to Ambleside with Grandma Joan. We bumped into the Langdale team who were collecting for their rescue team. My relative searchdog Beinn and his handler Roger were there. Apparently Beinn really likes me, but I'm not having any of it! We had a lovely walk round then came home.
Tomorrow all of us searchdogs are off to Keswick to do a collection for us searchdogs so I hope we see you all there, and Kaz says if you have any spare easter eggs, please bring them along for the handlers!
A couple of callouts and some really great news
Me and Kaz have been a bit busy - on Tuesday night we were all about to go out to training when Kazs pager went off for a dog callout to help the Penrith team search for a missing man near Longtown - Kaz and I jumped in the van and got going up to the RV point - Kaz and I were given an area of woodland to search - Mike the Deputy team leader came with us as navigator - which was great cos I like Mike - he gives me lots of cuddles and makes a real fuss of me. Anyways we ended up in some really thick woodland which was ok for me but poor old Kaz was on her hands and knees and ended up with loads of pine needles in her hair. After a couple of hours of searching the man was found which was good news and we all started going home. Just as me and Kaz walked in the house the pager went off again and it was for a couple of ladies out near Haweswater who were lost - it was a long night - me and Kaz got home at 3.30am - need I say more!
But the really good news is that my Aunty Elly and her trainee dog Meg and Joy and her trainee dog Einich (My cousin I think) both passed their final assessments and are now on the callout list - hooray me and Kaz are really pleased. Its always good when we get more people and dogs on the list.
Here they are with our chairman Mike Hadwin...hooray
Everyone else had a good weekend - a new trainee called Blaze (another relative) has started with her owner Steve and the Dram dog and Daryl did really well. Ex trainee Scar also turned up - he is doing well and getting much better every day. At the end of the day Daryl took a great piccy of all the dogs and handlers as well as bodies and assessors........
A nice couple of days in Scotland with my friends
For the last couple of days me and Kaz have been up in Scotland helping to assess their Searchdog
teams. We were staying at Stronord Outdoor Centre and what a great time we had - the weather was fab and the areas were right by Loch Dee - here's a photo of where we were....
We saw some lovely doggies who all seemed to be doing well and I even had a few runs up the hill to play with the bodies. The ground was particulary interesting for the humans - very tussocky and it was easy to fall down pretty deep holes! Kaz says she learnt lots again and I have to say 'well done' to Daryl and his dog Ruby who live on the Isle of Arran and who passed their assessments - despite the heat and a big hi to everyone we met and thank you especially to the ladies who did the catering - the food was really nice! Kaz has a little bit of sunburn on her nose (he he).
We got home last night and the Dram dog and Daryl had also had a good time while we were away - they had been to team training for Swift Watery stuff (well Daryl did - the Dram dog isnt a Swift Water Rescuer!).
So this morning we have just watched the Malaysian Grand Prix and we are now off to go out for a nice walk all together - then the Dram dog is going to show us how good he is getting at searching for people. Oh and before I go can I say a 'get well soon' to grandma Gwen - she isnt very well at the moment.
A long night for us all.
Last weekend me and the Dram dog and Kaz and Dayl went out over to Kirkstone pass for a bit of training - it was great - I was desperate to get out of the car and show Kaz just what a brillient searchdog I am and so I went and found some of the bodies. I found a new body called Steve who told me he reads my blog and likes it....hooray I have a fan! It was a lovely day and the Dram dog seemed to be enjoying himself too. Kaz painted the kitchen on Sunday - hmmm - she managed to get more paint on her hair than on the wall (well that's what Daryl reckoned!). Daryl has been working on trying to get Dram dog to range (meaning that he has to go further away from Daryl to search instead of being too close to him) so Daryl and Kaz took him up to Helton to play - it's not fair I wasnt allowed to play, still Kaz gave me an extra big cuddle when they got back which wasnt too bad really.
On Tuesday we all went to training at Whinlatter - it was a good night - the Dram dog did really well and Beck and Chris seemed to be having fun. After we finished we went home; Kaz and Daryl had just put us to bed when the pager went off for a Penrith team callout to help on a search for a man in the Howgills. Kaz and I drove straight to Tebay and Daryl went to the team base whilst the Dram dog stayed at home.
Kaz and I were given a search area to do a sort of zig zag pattern between a ridge line and a gully (but it was quite a big piece of ground). We set off but as we started going up the path to the fellside the wind and rain got really bad and then suddenly there was a lot of fog and Kaz could not see very far in front of her. (Doesnt matter to me coz I've got my clever nose). The ground was either tussocky grassy with holes in or very very boggy so Kaz was doing a lot of muttering to herself. We searched for a really long time with Kaz having to keep using her map and compass to walk on a particular route but we didnt find anything. I had a great time - I ran around like a lunatic. Eventually we finished the search area and radio'd in to ask what they wanted us to do next. They told us to make a direct route back so Kaz set a compass bearing to a wall corner about 2.5 Km away - I have to say that I wasnt convinced that she was going to find it so I was ready to bail her out when she went wrong....I neednt have worried she was bang on (I'm not sure who was more surprised - me or her). We were all stood down and Kaz and me drove home and went to bed and then a bit later Daryl came home - I think the Dram dog was pretty happy to see us all. After about 2 hours sleep we all got up and Kaz and Daryl went to work a bit tired but me and the Dram dog had a great snooze til they got home and took us out. Also while we were on that callout searchdog Beinn and handler Roger were on a callout in Kendal looking for a missing man - and because we were all on the other callout, searchdog Kess helped by coming out of retirement!
Tonight me and Kaz are packing our stuff cos tomorrow (Friday 8th) we are in Scotland assessing the dogs from SARDA Southern Scotland for 3 days. Daryl and the Dram dog are going to have a boys weekend at home. Ohh - before I go - dont forget to keep your fingers crossed for Joy and trainee Einich who are on their (hopefully final) assessments next weekend at the April training session in the Howgills. And finally 'Get Well soon' to John Leadbetter and happy birthday to searchdog Mist who lives in Norway!
MAR 2011
A few callouts for us but not for me.
This week has started getting busy since we came back - Kaz and Daryl have been really busy with work so couldnt go on the callouts but I think that they were mostly stood down before the others got out on the hill. Hopefully today me and the Dram dog are going to get a really nice walk this evening as the weather is quite nice and I think Kaz and Daryl need to get out!
I know, I know - I havent blogged for ages and ages, but here's the news from the avalanche course
Well loads of stuff has been happening so settle down for a long read - the main news is that we have been up to Aviemore for the annual winter avalanche training course - but more of that later.
1st off, I have some really sad news - Scar who is one of our handsome trainees and great playmate of the Dram dog has had to stop training as a search dog. He has been really ill in the last year and he has had some permanent damage to his spinal column. Its a real shame and his handler Paul is very disappointed as they both were really good. So we wish Paul and Scar lots of love and hope to see Paul back with another dog to train at some time.
So onto slightly happier things - our annual training course in Scotland. Well, we were all a bit worried that there wasnt going to be any snow coz handler John Leadbetter had been up the previous week and there wasnt any - a bit of a problem when you consider that we were going up to do avalanche training!! Anyway on the Wednesday before the course was due to start, it began to snow!
On day 1 we all worked together as the weather was so bad we couldnt go on the mountain - the humans played with tranceivers (to detect the buried bodies) - hmmm I dont know why they bother when they have us superior experts to detect buried humans! Here is body David looking rather silly....
In the afternoon we all had a play at digging in the snow - I think the Dram dog quite enjoys that bit.
Then on day 2 me and Kaz and a couple of others (Chris, Andrew Mc Neil, Andy and Joy) went up to the area in Coire an Lochain, it took 2 hours to get there as we were all wading through thigh deep (head deep for us dogs) snow. When we got there we (humans) had to dig us a kennel to keep us warm, then they dug a big shelter and covered it so they could sit out of the weather (the bait cabin) and then they started digging deep holes (5ft ish) to put the bodies into - we even had a quick play before we all walked off the hill - arriving back at 6pm just in time for tea. Here is some of the pics from day 1 (searching for deep snow and the bait cabin)
It was also great that we go to see Benny and searchdog Moudy who are now working at the Cairngorm Mountain - Moudy is still pretty good at all this searching stuff! But he can still be a bit of an idiot - here he is rubbing his face in the snow .... to get the snow off....hmmm!
When we got back we were all pretty tired but the Dram dog said he and Daryl and their group had had a good day - here are some of his photos.
So for the next couple of days we practiced more and more digging and searching which was great fun - the weather wasnt always brilliant up where we were - some days it was positively arctic! Here's me in the spindrift...
I was told by Kaz that we needed to take a test to see if we could work in avalanches - it was going to be a completely new area (where the Dram dog was working) and we would be given about 30-40mins to search an area about 150x150m where there would be a number of people buried as well as a number of fake burial areas. My job would be to search the ground carefully and when I smell someone to start digging them out and bark - then Kaz has to let the assessors know and then carry on - in a real life scenario she wouldnt stay and dig the person out - we would be needed to carry on to see if there are any more.
Kaz was very nervous - I told
her not to worry that I am brill - the snow was pretty deep for Kaz in places....
She neednt have worried - as usual I bailed her out - I smelt the 1st person really quickly and dug into them before she even go there. We then carried on, but the wind died right down so we had to work really hard to find the scent...and here I am finding Jackie the 2nd body......
So after only 20 mins we found them all and we passed - hooray!
Everyone else did really well too - John and Skye, Mick and Ginny, Laura and Jake and Mike and Fly all are capable of avalance work too - which is good news as the bad snow seems to be getting worse each year in the Lakes.
Here are some more random photos of the week.....
Trainee Moss wonders whether it's easier to get the handler to do it all!
Trainee Meg and handler Elly cuddle up against the wind
Mick and Searchdog Ginny battle the conditions
Body Katie
Trainee Corrie and handler Andy after a long day
What a great week and many thanks need to go to all the bodies - assessors and all those that organised the trip!
FEB 2011
A bit of a busy time...oh and some callouts for me, and a get well message to Trailing Dog Mij
Kaz and Daryl drove off down to Derby and we went with them last week - it was the Mountain Rescue Team Leaders meeting and Kaz was giving a talk on something or other - we got to run around at lunch time and meet lots of people and have a fuss which was good. Then on Sunday Kaz had man flu (....er no I didnt Dot cos I still managed to get up and do the ironing, cooking etc). Me and the Dram Dog went to Patterdale for training with Daryl - it was very (!) wet and poor old body Stuart nearly lost all his possessions in a flood. The Dram dog did well and Elly and Joy passed some more assessments - hooray!
I did hear some sad news though, my friend Mij from Bowland Pennine team whos the clever trailing dog, has been a bot poorly and has had to have an operation - so I'm sending her lots of woofs and a 'get well soon'.
On Monday afternoon at about 4pm, Kaz and Daryl were home early as they have a week's holiday - the pager went off for a callout for 3 people lost in a white out on Glaramara. Me and Kaz jumped in the car and headed over to Keswick base where we met up with Fly and Mike and drove down to the start of our search area which was to be up a place called Hind Gill. Blimey, me and Fly are flippin glad we arent human, Mike and Kaz had to slip all over the boulders as it was greasy and icy (whilst we've got built in crampons!). Luckily however, the people were soon found by Keswick team members on the summit and we went back to Keswick for a cuppa. Just as we were leaving about 7pm, the pager went off for a callout near Castle Carrock for a blind diabetic man whod gone for a walk with his doggie on the fell.
Me and Kaz drove straight up to Castle Carrock where we were given a route to search - the ground was a little difficult so Michael, the missing man had done really well to get across it if he couldnt see. Kaz got a bit scared at one point - it was really dark and windy (and a bit spooky) - I was just too busy searching to worry about her, but eventually she settled down (honestly - she's a wimp!). Anyway we searched for a very long time but no sign! Some of the other dogs had started arriving too. At about 9.30pm we heard on the radio that Daryl had found the man in a remote bit of fell - we got over there as soon as possible and met up with some other team members on the way. We managed to get Michael warm and onto a stretcher and then we had to carry him off the hill to a waiting ambulance - I was really proud of my dad Daryl for finding him....well until halfway through the carryout he was trying to keep Michael concious and they got talking about telly and stuff - and Daryl asked him what he'd been watching lately....oh dear, luckily for Daryl Michael thought it very funny! We were very glad to hear that apart form being cold he was ok.
Kaz and Daryl have got a week off work - me and the Dram dog thought that we'd be getting loads of fun, but no - at the moment they are attempting to put tiles and some big black glass thing onto the wall in the kitchen - I dunno - it seems a bit daft really - what's wrong with a plain wall? Here's their first attempts! I think they may be takng quite a long while really!!
Finally searchdog Flash has been taking all this search stuff a bit too seriously - her handler is now fitting her with wings!
Kaz and Daryls weekend cancelled, a callout and some fun...
Kaz and Daryl had had a pretty hard week and they were due to go up to Aviemore with some of the people off the team for Winter skills training. Unfortunately the weather was so bad that we decided not to go. Kaz told me that she was going to have a quiet day instead....hmmmm, not for very long though cos the pager went off for a callout for the dogs. Me and Kaz left Daryl and the Dram dog at home and we drove down to Broughton in Furness to look for a man who had gone missing on the marshes when shooting. It was horrible weather and when we arrived Kaz immediately resembled a drowned rat in minutes. Me and Kaz went to work with my big sis Ginny and her handler Mik. We had to search the marshes which was difficult because it is very muddy and it has lots of little inlets that I jumped over. We both worked really hard but sadly we didnt find the missing man. After about 3 hours we had finished and then we met up with searchdogs Beinn, Sam and Skye who had been working in the opposited direction to us. Me and Kaz drove home and me and the Dram dog stayed at home while Kaz and Daryl went out for a meal with the rescue team....it must have been good cos they didnt get in until nearly 1am...hmmmm.
Today Kaz and Daryl had team training at Lyon equipment's testing centre - they all did lots of stuff like climbing up ropes and rescuing dummies. Here's Kaz just about to start going up the rope and a piccie of Daryl doing a rescue of a dummy...
JAN 2011
Boring housework and then a run about
Kaz and Daryl did boring stuff at home with curtain poles and things....I really dont know so dont both asking! Me and the Dram dog just lay aorunf sulking until they'd finished then we all jumped in the car and drove up to Red Screes for a bit of training with the young dogs. Ian and Keppi, Mike and Moss, Andy and Corrie and Bill and Ani were there and Dram was allowed to train. It was really good to watch - they all did really well. When it was Drams turn he'd forgotten to bring his working jacket, so I had to lend him mine (I eventually gave in and let him borrow it but I wasnt too happy about it). He was really good - I was impressed cos he found the body from a really long way and frankly I thought he wasnt going to keep on barking cos Daryl was a long way behind, but he did! Here is the Dram dog looking a bit too cool for my liking............
After that we went home and Kaz and Daryl went out for a meal with some friends and me and the idiot....(oops...I forgot I wasnt supposed to call him that)....me and the Dram dog lay in front of the fire and snoozed. Then Chris the callout co-ordinator rang and asked if me and Kaz could go to Patterdale to look for 2 people lost on the fell. Luckily he rang back very quickly and said that we didnt need to come as they'd found their own way off....horray!
Today we ran around up on Helton fell and Kaz pretended to be lost for us both so we could find her - I was so excited I jumped all over her nice clean top.....oh dear.
Busy week for Kaz then a nice relaxing weekend for us all
Kaz has had a busy week at work with one thing or another, and as she goes to work early 3 times a week to run 1st, she was feeling a little bit tired. We went to dog training on Tuesday night over in Whinlatter. There wasnt many people there cos Elly and Chris are skiing so Dram dog got a really good long play looking for the bodies - blimey he was really good - Daryl didnt know where they were so he had to rely on the pup to find them all .... and he did .... and he barked without them doing anything! If it carries on like this, he'll get to work alongside me before I retire!
Then on Wednesday, me and Kaz travelled down to Barrow to do a talk on searchdogs to the Barrow Cancer Support Group - they were really lovely ladies and they made a real fuss over me after the talk - unfortunately Kaz wouldnt let them give me any buscuits which wasnt fair! The lovely ladies donated £60 to SARDA Lakes which was very kind - thanks!
Kaz then spent the rest of the week rushing around so it was good for her that on Saturday morning started with a nice lie in for Kaz after she'd been down in Cheshire for meetings until late on Friday. Although I must admit me and the Dram dog did our best to encourage her and Daryl to get up and play with us! When Kaz and Daryl eventually got up we all went for a walk on Red Screes (Kirkstone Pass) - the sun was shining and we ran around lots. Then Kaz and Daryl did some shopping for winter boots in Ambleside and we all dropped into Ambleside Base for a cuppa and to drop something off for handler Roger - they were all on 2 callouts on Bowfell for people who had fallen off. After Daryl bought his boots we drove to Keswick for tea - me and Dram dog were allowed to join them which was nice - got loads of fuss from other people.
This morning Kaz had to do some cooking (!) she was making some home made soup, bread and chocolate muffins and apparently didnt want two dogs under her feet, so Daryl took us out for a long walk. When we got back we were really pleased to see grandpa and grandma who'd popped over for lunch with us and they bought us some special doggy biscuits which was nice. We are snoozing now whilst Kaz is doing some stuff on the PC and Daryl is doing something clever about his work. I havent heard from my Dot fans lately so get writing.............
SARDA England come up to play and a calloutKaz had a day off work on Friday so she could help assess the dogs on the SARDA England course which was coming up to the Lakes. Kaz told me to tell you that even though we are seperate organisations, we make sure that we assess each others dogs to ensure standards are maintained. Anyway Kaz was due to help out on Friday and Saturday. So it was pouring with rain and very windy when we arrived at a place called Newlands Valley - it seemed a bit familiar, then I realised it was coz I'd been there with Kaz 4 years ago when I did my final assessments - so I tried to help out the England dogs by telling them it wasnt that bad really!
(I lied a bit coz it was really slippy and steep when me and Kaz did it and I didnt think it had changed much!). Anyway here's a piccy so you can get an idea of what they had to search.....you can see the very steep crags at the top - they had to work underneath those and all the dogs did really well on both days. Me and the Dram dog had to sit about in the car a bit, but we did get to run about at lunch time and at the end.
On Sunday me and Kaz went to Force Crag Mines to continue with the search for a missing lady - Kaz and me and Mick and Ginny along with 2 dogs from SARDA England had to search the area opposite the Mines. Me and Kaz must have drawn the short straw cos we got to search the horrid scree and crags at Eel Crag - here's a photo of the area we searched - except today it was windy, foggy and pouring with rain. Kaz took the decision to put a helmet on which was very wise as you can see from the picture - we took the waterfall up to the underside of the crags then along the top of the scree at the lefthand side of the pic. Sadly we didnt find anything.
Me and the Dram dog are lying about in the lounge at the moment - Daryl is playing Fable III (What ever that is) and Kaz is reading her Ian Rankin book, yawn! Anyways to sign off tonight, I've got a joke for all you Dot fans:-
A red boat and a blue boat collided with each other....the sailors ended up marooned!
Ha!.......laters Dot fans
Day 2 of the training weekend
Kaz and me and Daryl and the Dram dog went back to Loweswater today for day 2 of the training weekend. Another great day was had by the stage 1s - Simon and Molly are now moved to Stage 2 and Andy and Corrie and Mike and Moss are going to be moving up to stage 2 very soon and then hopefully the Dram dog will be moving up soon after that. Body Helen (the vet - although I wont hold that against her) brings her dog Archie along and he usually sits and watches everyone working. Today was no exception - until the sleet got a bit much and he looked a bit sad........
Moss - who is a bit of a flighty piece has started trying to beat me to the 'most attractive pose' crown - here she is striking a pose when Kaz whipped out her camera!
News from the other training groups seemed to be good with all of the dogs and handlers doing well. Got to go now as Kaz is dishing up shepherds pie and me and the Dram dog need to make sure she's cooked it properly!
Training weekend starts and callouts all over the place
It was a bit icy this morning and we were due to go over to Loweswater for the January training weekend which the Dram dog was looking forward to. We went over the Whinlatter pass in the van and according to Kaz who was driving - it was a little 'lively' - me and the Dram dog couldnt really tell - we were too busy cuddled up on the blanket to notice! Anyway me and Kaz were supervising the baby dogs with handler Laura and that good looking searchdog Jake. Daryl and the Dram dog, Simon and Molly, Mike and Moss and Andy and Corrie were training today and all of the them did really well - it has to be said that it was in no short part due to the brilliant bodies Helen, Jackie, Gemma and Ian who as usual ran around - although it was very unfair for me and Jake - we had to sit around and watch all the fun. At the end me and Jake got to show the baby dogs how its done and that was a bit of fun! We all went back to the Kirkstile Inn for a cup of tea and to meet up with the others - great news - Joy and Einich and Elly and Meg both got another pass which means they have passed 4 and 3 days out of the 8 so it really does look like they'll be graded soon - hooray.
Kaz and Daryl stopped for tea in Keswick on the way home - we all went in and just as we finished eating Kazs team pager went off for a callout on Crossfell - Kaz told me that 2 people had got lost on the fell and it was a complete whiteout. We started driving but then over the radio Kaz could hear Keswick MRT - she called them to see if we could help - they'd got 2 separate callouts on Great End for stuck climbers, but it was more likely that me and her could be of use at the Crossfell search as theyd got enough people, so we drove to base through the snow and got ready to go up. Just as we were leaving, the missing people managed to call and say that theyd found Gregs Hut and had decided to stay there until morning......so here we are back home, with the Dram dog curled up asleep after his tiring day. Hopefully tomorrow Joy and Elly will pass another assessment so fingers (and paws) crossed.
Hi Dot fans - Happy new year and all that sort of stuff.
It has been a little quiet since Christmas - me and Kaz had a bit of a chat yesterday - she reckons that the idiot pup Dram shouldnt be called the idiot pup anymore as he is getting real good at this searching stuff and he is like a 'proper dog, only smaller'! So I finally agreed that I'd stop calling him that and refer to him as Dram instead - honestly I must really be getting soft in my old age!
Poor old Daryl has been really poorly with Man Flu (yes apparently men and male dogs get worse conditions that us ladies!) - so have most of the other dog handlers (although Kaz says I have to state that all of the lady handlers have been able to struggle on!!!!!)
Today Kaz was on her way home from work when she got a call from Callout Co-ordinator Chris to say that there was a search on for 2 people at Bannerdale Crags - they were in a blizzard and a bit lost. Kaz got home and picked me up - we drove over to Mungrisdale and just as we arrived we heard over the radio that they'd been found which is good news. Currently me and Dram are chilling on the floor - tomorrow we are all off to Loweswater for training - we are keeping paws and fingers crossed for Elly and Joy who are on assessment - Good Luck!
