Derry rescue dog Dexter has become a vital part of a life-saving team

Dexter the Border Collie was rescued when he was eight-months-old and he has spent the past few years of his life working and training with the Search and Rescue Dog Association Ireland North (SARDA IN).

SARDA IN was founded in 1975 and was the first team in Ireland to train and use search dogs. Neil Power was a member of a mountain rescue team and worked very closely with teams in Scotland to train the first search dog in Ireland, a German Shepherd called Kim. The organisation has grown since then and now has a sister organisation covering the Republic of Ireland.

Neil, who is Chairperson of SARDA IN, said: “From starting with just Kim, we have 15 dogs altogether now with a mixture of different skills; we have a few mountain rescue search dogs; three dogs that are trained to find people who have died – these dogs will work from a boat – then there's four dogs trained to work with the fire service, and those four dogs and handlers are also part of an international search and rescue team called SAR Aid; and we also have two scent-specific trailing dogs, which can follow a persons scent for between 12 and 24 hours after they’ve gone missing. We used these scent-specific trailing dogs recently in Derry, along with a cadaver dog.

“The dogs are all family pets so they all live with the handlers, who train the dogs at home under guidance from the training officer. We have a very well structured training program that we use for the different types of specialities and the training takes usually between one and two years. We will bring in external assessors from Scotland, who we work very closely with, and they will assess the dogs which usually takes three days.

“Not every dog will make it through the training so we need to look at the dog and asses whether we think they’ve got what it takes. Search dogs have two drives, really – there's a thing called a prey drive, which is the willingness to go search for a toy, for example. You would throw toys in the bushes and then see how long it takes for the dog to either find it or give up trying to search for it. If a dog gives up too soon, it wouldn't make a search dog. The other thing is you want a really high play drive, so when he gets the ball, does he really want to play hard? Once you establish that aspect, you're looking for their temperament; that they're safe with people and safe with other dogs. We put them through a very strict test with livestock as well so they’re completely safe to be around them.”

Dexter, or Stan as he was originally called, was surrendered to the Rainbow Rehoming Centre in early 2020 with two of his siblings. He was part of an unwanted litter and found himself in the shelter at just three months old. He was rehomed to a different family, who changed his name to Dexter, but he found himself back in the centre a few months later. Thankfully, he was adopted by his ‘forever home’ at eight months old and his family have worked hard with his training to help the rescued become the rescuer.

“Dexter has turned out to be a superb search dog,” said Neil. “He’s an absolutely brilliant wee thing. Dexter and his handler are based in Ballykelly and are one of many handlers who are scattered all over the north. We’re all volunteers and we’re fairly busy; we would get called out maybe five or six times a month and those calls would often be in the middle of the night. It's a chance for us to do something for the community and we all love it. The dogs love it too, they wouldn't be doing it if they didn't love it.”

The Rainbow Rehoming Centre have said they are ‘incredibly proud’ of Dexter and all he has achieved since leaving their care. Anna Hyndman from Rainbow said: “Dexter’s story just shows what can happen when a rescue dog is given the love and care they deserve to help them to flourish in their new home. Dexter was adopted to be a family pet but his family understood the needs of a Collie dog and knew that he needed to be exercised well and given plenty of mental enrichment for him to live a happy life. Dexter had some behavioural issues when he was returned to us and what started out as his family working through these and meeting all his needs, ended up in this wee dog now saving lives and having the time of his life!

"We’re incredibly proud of Dexter and his family and still keep in regular contact with them to see how Dexter is getting on. They attend our Pooches in the Park every year, where they are the star attraction chatting to everyone and telling them about what they do. We just love to see it and hope that others see that the dogs in our care all have so much potential, as long as they find the right home who has researched the breed and does everything in their power to ensure their dog lives a long and happy life.

"We wish Dexter and his owner David all the best in their vital work and can’t wait to see what they do next!”

Anybody who's interested in joining SARDA is encouraged to visit SARDA Ireland North Facebook page, where they can read about the organisation and make an application.