Rescue service seeks public’s help in training of specialist dogs

An increase in the number of missing persons in Galway has prompted the Galway Dog Search and Rescue Unit to appeal for volunteers to help them with the training of their rescue dogs.

The unit has been involved in the search for more than ten missing persons in Galway City and county and from Sligo to Athlone.

GDSRU was instrumental in recovering the body of missing person Mags Berry, who was found in Merlin Woods area of the city last February.

The search and rescue unit – founded by Barry Breen – has been in operation for over two years. The unit’s lead trainer is Lucy Callaly – and her dog, Asha, is currently the only fully-trained dog within the unit.

“It started off with my partner, she was pushing me to basically train her dog for search and rescue. She had an interest in search and rescue and cadaver,” explained Barry.

“I did some training for about five or six years, where I trained her dog which is our only qualified dog at the moment. There are four other dogs currently in training right now,” he added.

The training initially is quite basic, such as getting the dog to obey certain commands – for example simply getting the dog to bark.

Following this, the search training begins, with the dog attempting to sniff out training volunteers who are feigning difficulty or hiding in a specific location.

The training area gradually becomes larger in scale, thus increasing the difficulty on the canine until their training is eventually complete.

“We are looking for people who want to work with dogs – and they would be the person hiding. Then the second thing is for people who would be interested in actually training their dogs for search and rescue.

“I’d be training their dogs obviously but they would have to be willing themselves,” said Barry.

The group are looking for people who are comfortable around animals and won’t be put off by close contact with the dogs.

“There is no specific breed but it’s preferably larger dogs. It’s all down to the temperament of the dog.

“We need to factor the probability that the dog is possibly bold and boisterous and that kind of thing,” explained Barry.

For those interested in volunteering for the unit or for more information, visit galwaydogtraining.net