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The bravest dogs in British Columbia will be in Kelowna this weekend.
From Friday until Monday, 16 search and rescue (SAR) canine teams from across the province will descend on Kelowna for training and validations with the RCMP police dog services.
The validations are an annual requirement for volunteer SAR canines under the Emergency Management BC (EMBC) program and are the culmination of hundreds of hours of training.
EMBC is the government agency that provides oversight to BC’s 79 SAR groups.
It only recognizes the BC Search Dog Association and Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association as official training bodies of SAR and rescue canines.
Canine handlers spend upwards of $10,000 annually on training, travel and equipment for these working dogs and often travel throughout the province for training and to provide assistance to SAR teams without dogs.
Much of this cost ends up being shouldered by the handler and their local SAR group.
Central Okanagan Search and Rescue’s canine Chase was certified in 2021 after around 2,000 hours of training and he participated in 20 tasks during his first 12 months of service.
Handler Terry Downs said that Chase has “definitely contributed” to saving lives early on in his SAR career.
“Chase is very popular with the team and the public,” noted Downs. “We are grateful to all members of the public who have made generous donations for Chase’s expenses along with some families of those that Chase assisted in locating.”
Chase has travelled with the team for search on snowmobiles, helicopters and UTV, as these working dogs need to be ready and able to travel in all conditions to many remote areas during tasks.
“A K9 team can cover an area faster and safer than a conventional ground team and have proven themselves in locating lost seniors, missing children and those in distress,” Downs explained.
All SAR canines are under the guidance and oversight of the RCMP police dog services and teams are mentored in their training through the year.
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