Central Okanagan Search and Rescue uses furry friend to locate lost people

Search and rescue crews in the Central Okanagan are getting some assistance from a four-legged friend.

Chase, a black lab, joined the Central Okanagan Search and Rescue last year and specializes in wilderness searches, said handler Terry Downs.

“His first successful find was in April last year and we subsequently had a few other successful finds throughout 2021,” Downs said. “He’s a great team member, everybody likes him.”

She equates Chase to 20 search and rescue volunteers since he's able to cover ground much faster with his keen sense of smell, she said. He's also able to be airlifted into situations and can ride along on quads or snowmobiles.

He’s assisted in searches across the province, from helping with search and rescue searches at Silver Star Mountain Resort to helping locate a missing hiker in Manning Park.

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“There’s definitely a need for it and we’re a provincial resource so we can go anywhere in the province,” Downs said.

Chase has become quite famous in the Okanagan and was even featured in a film called Secrets of a Marine's Wife, shot in Osoyoos, she said. Film crews were in need of a search dog.

It’s the first time the search organization is using a certified dog to help find people. Search dogs are certified by the RCMP Police Dog Services.

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“They’re our pets first but they have a special job. As a team member of COSAR, he’s like an extra resource.” Training takes about two years and then they’re certified by the RCMP and can be used during searches, Downs said.

In B.C., there are only 20 civilian search and rescue dogs. Civilians can train their dogs to become certified but have to be a search and rescue member for at least two years prior to training. It’s challenging to be a dog handler because it takes about 2,000 hours for a dog to become fully certified, she said. 

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Chase is trained to work both in urbanized areas and in the wilderness.

“Chase is one of the busiest dogs in the province and last year we’ve utilized him on a fair number of calls with COSAR,” Downs said.

Any dogs that are large enough can become search dogs, she said. Typically, rescue dogs consist of shepherds, labs and Belgian Malinois. Dogs that don’t fully pass police dog service training may also make good search and rescue dogs, she said.

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