News From 2010
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2007 2008 2009
FIND BY DOTTIE 51 year old woman reported herself lost in very bad weather on the Pennine Way between Cross Fell and Dun Fell. This callout was immediately after dogs had finished at another callout near Windermere. Penrith deployed dogs and Team members into the most likely locations. She was FOUND by Search Dog Dottie (Kaz Frith) in very poor visibility, on the rim of Cross Fell in a hypothermic state. After some rewarming, she was assisted from the fell by Team members.
TRAINEE SEARCHDOG OLLY MAKES THE GRADE
The July training weekend in Coniston proved to be one of congratulations for Handler Penny Kirby who along with her trainee searchdog Olly passed her final assessment. Olly is Penny's 4th searchdog and she will be working him alongside her other searchdog Pippi. Here is Penny receiving the all-important green tag from SARDA Lakes president Jim Coyle BEM.
SEARCHDOG MOUDY AND HANDLER DAVE BENSON LEAVE SARDA FOR A NEW LIFE IN SCOTLAND
It was with great sadness that SARDA Lakes stalwart Dave Benson and his dog Moudy said goodbye to SARDA Lakes as they prepare to start a new life in Scotland.
Moudy, a Bedlington Terrier crossed with a Greyhound is a very unusual choice for a searchdog, but he has been a great asset since qualifying 7 years ago. Dave, will also be missed as he has been a very committed assessor and trainer of the Stage 1 dogs.
Dave and Moudy will be living in Aviemore and spending everyday on Cairngorm as Dave's new job is looking after Health and Safety at the Cairngorm Mountain Centre. We'd like to take this opportunity to wish Dave and Moudy well!
At his last training session we presented Dave with a cake and a few beers!
A great post script is that at the beginning of July, Dave and Moudy underwent an assessment with SARDA Scotland and qualified to be added to their callout list - so Moudy and Benny will continue to provide a valuable service to Hill walkers....just in a different area.
LANGDALE CHARITY FOLK FESTIVAL
Once again we were one of the two beneficiaries of the festival held at the Old Dungeon Ghyll pub on 7-9 May 2010. Everyone associated with the festival gave their time and performances for free. A total of £2300 was raised, with the Great North Air Ambulance and SARDA Lakes each receiving £1000 from the donations, while SARDA also received the balance of £300 from the sale of our "search puppies”. We are extremely grateful to all those who helped make the festival such a success – especially to Mik Mead and Maureen & Dave Reid.
SARDA LAKES VISITS TJORN IN NORWAY
Handlers Kaz Frith, Olly Benson and Mick Guy travelled to the Rogaland area of Norway to join the local Regional Norwegian Searchdog Team as instructors at their 5 day training course. Unusually, the weather was glorious and there was a mixed group of dogs to work with - ranging from a Poodle, a Labrador, flat coated retrievers, a Giant Schnauser to 2 Rotweilers!! Each day saw the handlers, dogs and instructors working hard and making great progress. SARDA Lakes hope to host our Norwegian colleagues to one of our training weekends soon. Here are handler Kjetil with Rotweiler Joppe at the start of an area.
SEARCHDOG DYNAMITE RETIRES
At 13 years old, handler Dave Watt of Kirkby Stephen MRT decided to retire searchdog Dynamite (pictured on the right). She had attended many searches and was a great servant of the association. Dave continues to work his other searchdog Flash
EASTER COLLECTION
The handlers, dogs and supporters were outside the Keswick Motor Company on Easter Sunday - it was great to see so many of you all - we were amazed about the numbers who had made special trips just to say hello! The collection raised a fantastic £1220 and we sold over £400 of our special SARDA puppies. Many thanks to everyone.
SARDA LAKES AT NEC 2010 OUTDOOR SHOW
Handlers Kaz Frith and John Leadbetter along with searchdogs Dottie and Skye and body Clair Williams and aspirant trainee Daryl Garfield with puppy Dram attended the Outdoor Show at Birminghams NEC. Outdoor Clothing company Montane have been working with SARDA recently on provision of clothing for the graded handlers, and SARDA joined them on their trade stand where many thousands of people met the dogs (who thoroughly enjoyed the 2 days of constant fuss). Kaz was also invited to speak on the work of SARDA on both days in one of the lecture theatres.
SARDA HANDLERS AND BODIES ON THE SCENE OF AN INCIDENT
An eventful weekend training at Patterdale saw SARDA handlers, trainees and bodies going to the scene of an incident in Brown Cove were a female climber fell approximately 200m in snow conditions - the incident was witnessed by a number of assessors observing a trainee and they immediately began to make their way to the scene and provided first aid. Patterdale MRT were called and arrived at the casualty site. The climber was evacuated to a waiting Sea King.....a very lucky lady!
AVALANCHES CONTINUE
We thought winter was drawing to a close but we were brought back to reality again when we attended another avalanche this time in Window Gully on Great End - luckily no-one was hurt but our continued training for winter events such as this has put us in great stead!
SARDA LAKES ON NEW TV SERIES
Some of the dogs, handlers and bodies of the SARDA Lakes team are currently featuring in an ITV series called The Lakes presented by Rory McGrath. Shown on Mondays at 7pm - next week sees searchdog Beinn and handler Roger Pickup being interviewed about their work.
THANK YOU TO WEDNESBURY WOMENS INSTITUTE
The ladies of Wednesbury Womens Insitute held a meeting on 4th February and a collection of over £100 was donated to SARDA Lakes - many thanks
19th Jan AVALANCHES IN THE LAKES
After the big snows, came the thaw and avalanches suddenly became a real threat - so we decided to do some avalanche training with our graded dogs - a day later came a salutary reminder that our avalanche training isn’t just for fun. Follow this link HERE to the blog of a friend of a Kendal team member who was skiing above Thirlmere. As if that wasnt enough, a week later we were called to an avalanche on Glaramara - luckily the 3 people involved were not badly injured!
1st Jan - FLOOD ASSISTANCE FROM OVERSEAS
While president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson may have decided to put to a referendum the decision to return £3.4bn to the British Treasury, one group of Icelanders has shown more generosity with a donation to the Cumbrian flood relief fund. Search and rescue dog handlers in Iceland have a long affiliation with the Search and Rescue Dogs Association in the Lakes and decided to hand over £600 when they saw the county’s plight on television. Click HERE for more
31 Dec 2009 - DOG FIND
Two women reported themselves as lost in bad snow conditions - their last known confirmed position was at the summit of White Bog some two hours previously, but light was now fading and the snow conditions worsening. Penrith team and local searchdog and handler were dispatched to search routes - other SARDA dogs were en-route. The mispers were FOUND by search dog Dottie (Kaz Frith) under Cawdale Edge where snow was approaching thigh deep - they had decided to go back up hill as they believed that they were heading in the wrong direction
Copyright © Kaz Frith 2007 SARDA Lakes.
