Novice avalanche rescue dog Stella guides handler Michael Lundin to a person buried in the snow at the National Avalanche LandSAR dogs annual assessment weekend held at the Snow Farm. The occasion was the annual assessment of the LandSAR avalanche dog team. LandSAR Dogs national avalanche co-ordinator Karyn Robertson said to become operational the dogs had to undergo a rigorous assessment procedure and achieve the standards set by NZ LandSAR and the NZ Police Dog Section. LandSAR dogs chairman Fritz van Rooden said it took hundreds of hours to train an avalanche dog. She said the only way to find someone trapped in snow and not wearing a transponder was by an avalanche trained rescue dog.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 17, 2017 17:03 UTC