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Show A Page 6-Wasatch Canyon with a favorite toy. Winder Reporter, April - Mid-May He is an expert in using dogs niques said Sam Davis, for criminal apprehension and Snowbird’s patrol training — search and rescue situations. Burns coached the teams frou the exercises. _officer, who coordinated the “Get him hyped: Get him mock searches. hyped,” Winder shouted in a “Every time we do one of voice that was part coach, part these drills, we try to tailor it drill team sergeant. Devon to specific training needs,” a handler from _ Fuller, said Sam. Schweitzer Basin responded — Sunday evening, the hanby working his jet black dlers briefed Davis on their Shepherd, Iko, into” a digging dog’s experience and skills in frenzy. need of a tune - up. Davis and designed the drills to be diffi- Fuller took Iko aside to play tug of 1 war with a loop of webbing. “He loves this work $0 much,” Fuller said, petting his companion. The drills are designated cult in those areas and easy in The victim ieee all others to isolate the skill. For instance, some dogs might search a very broad areas throughout the Rockies instructing dogs and their Rescue considers Level C dogs “candidates” because under Wasatch Backcountry handlers. they still await official recogof eleven dogs. Each ski area — nition as avalanche dogs from owns its own dogs and funds the county Animal Services _ the program, medical care, Department. | Both and kennels, in its own way. _. Burns introduced the I hear nothing for twenty minutes. My mind wanders, my patience grows shorter and the cave starts to feel small. I no longer hear footsteps above me. I have brief imaginary glimpses of Cattone and Sady eating lunch instead of searching for me, The third day of the seminar ended with validation tests for four Wasatch area dogs. P.O. Box 8017 As in many ski areas, Backcountry because most Backcountry skiers” wear tag. avalanche beacons. it (validation),” said | he : The validation tests are ae. program. Since then Burns has trav- designed to evaluate dogs, not Hed handlers or teams, Private Club | *Ski Accessories and Gift Shop» _ Ski Rental & Repair Open 8:00-5:30 Daily * Snowboard & Telemark Equipment Available | (801)742-3000 on four grades - poor, fair, good, very good - each with a respective point value of one, two, three, However, Luther says one The dog performs of the lessons learned from tests in obedience, retrieving, the seminar is that people can and avalanche searching. - mess up a search, too. Evaluators grade the dog’s “Handlers often make performance and assign a mistakes, not the us she To achieve Level A, the dog must be able to find multiple victims and work | with other dogs. Level B first check we wrote was for a dog,” Schory said, also a Powderbirds guide for more than ten years. The check bought Raya, a German Shepherd, who died six months Mecca, later when she another German Shepherd, who died two years ~ later. Powderbirds then bought Naco, a third German Shepherd. It was the first to’ respond to = an . actual avalanche with a victim. Evergreen Ridge _ near Solitude slid and buried a Backcountry skier. Schory | and Naco searched the area at eaten eee re LE NITI ON u 8256 Ss. 700 Eg crews under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Department. based dards. ae werH ner ia reecho standards expect dogs to work with other people as well. form the was hit by a car. To replace Raya, Powderbirds bought Srna, However, a Backcountry slide, they are ation and effort, Burns said. Burns han- British Columbia. 2- 4 avalanches a year in the with their primary handler, Wasatch Backcountry Rescue Burns Schory said. Although avalanche according to Wasatch Backcountry Rescue stan- Cranbrook, respond to an average of only responders try to pair the dog SIX search team, “can be detrimental” to the overall rescue dled dogs for fifteen years for the Canadian Mounties in * Full Overnight Service Dogs rescue about score to each category. _ said. _ There are three Levels to Schory agrees. “The dogs avalanche dog validation - A, know what they’re doing,” he to determine which dogs will B, and C. Each Level has a said. “We’re the idiots.” actually help a search instead : minimum passing score. Wasatch Backcountry of just getting in the way. Only Level A dogs are Rescue has been using dogs An experienced dog considered ‘ ‘operational’, since 1977. “In fact, the very ‘Outstanding Food/ goes,” Schory said. organization drafted an evalu- to Salt Lake times for validations. validation - an objective test that ranks dog’s capabilities - *Beautiful Accommodations at Reasonable Prices Dogs are primarily used used search dogs in the— avalanche that killed two snowmobilers near Ben Lomond Peak last fall. the dogs are required to pass a Alta, Utah 84092. Rescue have a combined total — Animal Services Department exchanges it for an avalanche about or four. . Today, the four ski areas in - area today, Schory said. “In almost every slide reported in- area, a dog always Schory,a founder of both some might split the area to Wasatch Backcountry and its practiceteam work. Schory’ s land in Washington State. Wasatch area to validation in the early “80’s when he met. of ;members Wasatch Cottonwood Canyons are Salt Backcountry Rescue, a volun- _Lake County watersheds and teer organization with a fledgall dogs require tags. The ling dog program funded by ‘Department allows four dogs Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, for each area. A candidate Brighton, and Powderbirds. holds a watershed tag until it “We never really thought reaches Level A, when the area to find a shallow victim, The Fabulous on all Ski Repair died and is buried in some of Now retired, he travels to ski- dogs are used only in emergencies and can locate a single buried victim quickly. Wasatch Backcountry ‘to isolate certain search tech- and 3 1 995 night and quickly found a body buried in five feet of snow. 3 “It really helped us to. solidify the use of these dogs,” Schory said. The ski areas began buying their own dogs and supporting separate programs under the guidance of Backcountry Rescue. _ _Naco, now traditionally regarded as Wasatch’s first rescue dog, has long since _ When dogs do respond to “They’re very much in charge,” Schory said. Wasatch Backcountry | Rescue operates under direct authority of the Sheriff’s Department volunteer pro: gram. An avalanche in the ‘Wasatch Backcountry is usu- ally reported to Alta Central who notifies the Sheriff. Wasatch Backcountry Rescue advises them about peculiari- ties in the terrain and weather. The Sheriff decides when a dog team is dispatched. _ In spite of the rapid erowth of dog programs in the Wasatch area, not once has a dog search led to a rescue of a living person. _ Jackson Hole and other intermountain ski areas have had live rescues. And dogs have been successful in Europe. - for decades. Switzerland boasts 45 live rescues from 1945 - 1974, according to wae Avalanche Review. For the Wasatch dogs, there have been no live finds. “But there will be,” Schory insisted. Finally, a.dog’s pe interrupts my pessimistic imagination. Digging noises and aggressive sniffing follow. Sady reaches me before the shovelers with vicious kindness, a warm, slobbery — tongue, and terrible breath. I guess this means de ne rescued Seah WCR |
