Emma Milburn​ and Dart have been a search and rescue tag team for nearly a decade.

But as bearded collie Dart, 13, gets older, she soon faces retirement, bringing an end to the special career shared between her and her handler.

The pair have been through a lot together. Milburn did all of Dart’s search and rescue training herself, pretty much everyday for eight years straight. The time and dedication it took to train a dog to be operational in search and rescue tasks was often overlooked, Milburn said.

They’ve had “lots of finds” in their eight years together. They’ve been deployed on searches in Otago, Southland, Canterbury, Nelson and Stewart Island, many of which were multi-day searches, with mixed outcomes.

“We work so hard, and it can be quite overwhelming when we get to the end. The job isn’t finished until we find them,” Milburn said.

“A lot of times the outcome is not a good one.”

Of the 11 finds Dart has had, roughly half were deceased when they were found.

“It’s hard when we get there, and it’s too late. The bad outcomes are very sad.

“The first time we found someone together they were deceased, and I cried for the family.”

A former chef and librarian, Milburn began volunteering for Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR) as a way to give back to the community and, as an avid tramper, experience more of the outdoors.

She volunteered in Dunedin for 10 years and had been doing the same in Methven, Canterbury, for the last three.

Her role as a search and rescue volunteer earned her a job as a paid police officer in Methven a couple of years ago.

Memorable searches for Milburn and Dart included helping find a missing Australian tourist in difficult conditions in a mountain range in Queenstown, a search at Golden Bay during the last Covid-19 lockdown, and finding a lost mother and daughter on Mt Somers after searchers initially thought the outcome was “50-50”.

“We obviously want to find people alive, but that’s not always the case.

“At the very least, a find can bring loved ones some closure.”

Milburn said it would be hard to retire Dart given their “amazing bond.”

Bearded collie-cross Teka, 2, was set to take Dart’s place, but training so far had not gone as smoothly as it first did with Dart.

Dart was trained using toys, but Teka preferred to be rewarded with treats.

“Training the dogs is very time-consuming. They all have their own specific traits.

“There’s lots of dedication required.”

The teamwork and comradery with other rescuers was a huge source of job satisfaction, Milburn said.

“It’s a selfless use of time to search for others for days. I joined to help, and I made lots of friends along the way. We rely on each other.”

Milburn aspired to become a full-time, paid search and rescue worker with police and to train Teka to become fully operational.

While Dart was “awesome” to train, she could be a “pain in the butt” at times like any animal or person, Milburn said.

Teka still had a lot to learn but was “getting there”.

LandSAR development and fundraising manager Jon McQueen said the team received some Government support, but it did not enable them to provide everything – such as wet weather gear and basic kits – for all volunteers.

“With the borders still closed, more and more people are enjoying the outdoors, meaning that this summer could be very busy for our volunteers.”