Search and rescue dog handlers hone skills in preparation for busy summer season

NewsHub, 17/12/2023, Kaysha Brownlie

Dogs are playing an increasingly important part in search and rescue missions across New Zealand.

Canterbury handlers have been honing their skills as they prepare for a busy summer season ahead.

In hot and blustery conditions and beneath a noisy helicopter, it's a race against time for the dogs.

"When teams are out looking for the lost, missing and injured, it's really important for us to have teams as comfortable as possible and ready to deploy as quickly as possible," LandSAR NZ volunteer dog handler Murray Bowden said.

Today there's a little more wriggle room as LandSAR dog handlers train up ahead of the busiest time of the year.

"We could be doing it in the dark, in the rain and conditions could be ...............................