22 Nov 2023

Making the cut as a LandSAR canine

From Afternoons, 1:35 pm on 22 November 2023

Dogs can pick up millions of smells, millions more than humans. It could be the whiff of a tissue, or a piece of chewing gum that allows a dog to track someone. Whatever the weather, sixteen dogs and over sixty regional teams are on call to search for missing and injured people.

It's a big job, and relies solely on volunteers to train and work with expert canine trackers. Wakatipu-based Bridget Martin has been a volunteer dog handler with NZ Land Search and Rescue for 20 years. She talks to Jesse about Allie-Mae, Zinzan and Bandit.