WARNING: CUTENESS ALERT
Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team (CVSRT) are very happy to announce that a new addition will start training very shortly in the hope of eventually joining the team!!

11weeks old Springer Spaniel ‘Orion’ with his owner and handler CVSRT Gary Smith from Todmorden, have dived straight into training which is expected to take approximately 2years to achieve the standard set by the Search and Rescue Dog Association. The pup has three distinct markings on his back that look similar to the stars in the constellation of ‘Orion’s Belt’. Orion is also known as ‘The Hunter’ in Greek mythology, so it seemed an appropriate name to choose for a search dog.

Gary joined CVSRT in 2015 and has been very actively involved with the development of our current search dogs by regularly volunteering as a ‘dogsbody’ for training, and also assisting as a navigator for our search dog handlers when they are deployed on callouts. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, ‘dogsbodies’ are highly valued people in the development of a search dog. These volunteers go out on the hill in all weather conditions to hide for the dogs to find on training exercises and assessments courses. They are essential and help to hone the dogs’ senses.

Search dogs have been a part of CVSRT since 1977. Over the years there have been 15 dogs and 10 handlers assisting the team on searches. The dogs are trained to 'Air Scent' so, as a general rule, they do not track the missing person, but react to wind borne human scent. A search dog can cover large areas of ground, including difficult terrain and woodland in the search and is very sensitive to any human scent it finds. It will immediately follow a scent to its source. It will then ‘indicate’ to its handler, usually by barking, to let them know it’s made a 'find'. It is not unusual for a dog to pick up a scent from a missing person, 500metres or more away.

If you would like to follow Orion’s development and training, he has his own Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/redtagspan/

To do something amazing and volunteer as a dogsbody please email: secretary@cvsrt.org.uk

To find out more about CVSRT Search Dogs please visit: http://www.cvsrt.org.uk/the-team/cvsrt-search-dogs

At our AGM last week, CVSRT & SARDA member Ellie Sherwin was awarded with her 25 years Long Service Award with Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team.  What an excellent achievement and incredible commitment.  Well done Ellie, from all at CVSRT.  (pictured here with Search Dog Pepper).

Ellie has kindly written a synopsis of her time with the team so far…

“I have always been an outdoor person and over 25 years ago I was acting as a “body” for the search and rescue dogs.  At this point I decided I would like to be more involved in the nitty gritty of the rescue team and possibly the search dogs, so approached the team about joining.

I can remember being grilled about my “hill” experience, but think that membership of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake District, numerous Munro’s bagged, trips to the Alps, (including Mont Blanc), probably helped to convince the training officer of my capabilities. I also had an outdoor career as a Countryside Warden, at Hollingworth Lake Country Park, which may have contributed to my suitability.

During my time in Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team I have held the position of Secretary and Minutes Secretary, but my main interest has always been with the Search and Rescue Dogs. After a difficult period training my first dog Bonnie, I was awarded the coveted “Novice Shield” in 1995, for outstanding performance at the assessment.

The 4-day assessment confirms your ability to be included on the call out list as a dog handler. In fact my first call out was to search for a man missing near Baitings Dam near Ripponden, and after a very short search Bonnie located the missing person alive, behind a broken down wall.  Following this we featured on a TV programme “Potty about Pets”, in which the team, Bonnie and myself were involved in a re-enactment of the scenario.

Bonnie sadly died at 10 years old, but after a short break Pepper joined the family and proved to be a willing student in the art of search and rescue. Pepper has been graded for 7 years now and in that time has found 2 missing people. I have been National Secretary for SARDA England for two long periods and have also held the position of Members Rep and Training Officer.

Through the team I have had the privilege of joining a group of like-minded people, with great skill and enthusiasm, all dedicated to helping others”.

Ellie Sherwin

CVSRT & SARDA dog handler

Click here to find out more about CVSRT Search Dogs.

On Saturday saw the deployment of the team en masse to the streets in Halifax and Keighley for our annual Christmas Collection to help raise essential funds to keep the team operational. We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to few individuals who helped throughout the day.

Thanks to Christian Scott Hairdressing who supplied water for our Search Dogs and made hot drinks for team members and gave us a box of chocolates towards the end of the day. Thanks also to Liquid Lens, Wright Angle Marketing and Elysium Screens for producing a 10 second digital advert that displayed on loop on the large advertising screen in Halifax town centre… and most of all, many thanks to all Christmas shoppers and local community who came along and supported us throughout the day. Your heart-warming messages of support, incredible gestures of kindness and very generous donations were gratefully received.

The grand total raised was £ 3,891.83. Please accept our sincere thanks.

Have a wonderful Christmas and stay safe if you’re out and about this festive season.

Thank you. CVSRT

If you missed seeing the team but still want to donate, please visit the Support Us page. Thank you.