Search dog gets to ride in helicopter
A GLENORCHY search and rescue veteran and her supersleuth pooch headed for the mountains last week to prepare for a big assessment.
Vladka Kennett has been working in search and rescue with her dogs for 12 years.
On Friday she jumped into a chopper with her young Labrador Zara to head up to the Humboldt Mountain Range, near Glenorchy, for some training before their assessment at the National Avalanche Assessment Camp in Wanaka.
A big part of Friday’s trip was just getting Zara used to the sound of the helicopter, she said.
‘‘It’s really just a matter of going ‘OK this is my job, this is my environment, this is what I have to live with’.
‘‘The searching in the snow, they have amazing abilities to search, so it’s just using the tool they naturally have and almost modifying their instinct for hunting.’’
Mrs Kennett moved to New Zealand from the Czech Republic 15 years ago, and got involved in search and rescue three years later.
‘‘I came from Europe and wanted to carry on a little bit of involvement with dog training, because I used to have a German Shepherd back in the Czech Republic.
‘‘When I came to New Zealand it was pretty much the only way to get out there in the outdoors with a dog and do something, so I got involved in the local search and rescue group.’’
By the time the assessment comes around later this month, Mrs Kennett believes Zara will be able to search an area of 3000 square metres.
The flying time in the Squirrel AS350 helicopter was donated by Heli Glenorchy, which Mrs Kennett said was ‘‘invaluable’’.