By Spencer Sterritt

Dog joins Nanaimo Search and Rescue team for first time

May 30, 2017 | 11:45 AM

NANAIMO — For the first time ever, Nanaimo Search and Rescue was joined by a canine friend during an outing to find a lost hiker.

Two-year-old Black Labrador Hazel, certified a few months ago, is their first validated search and rescue dog.

Her handler, and team president, Carly Trobridge said having Hazel out in the bush with them cuts the amount of time needed to search and area from a day to only a few hours.

Trobridge said Hazel is in her element when they’re out searching.

“You can just see it on her face how happy she is. To the dogs, they don’t really understand the monumental task they’re doing. For them, they’re out playing a fun game with their favourite person. It’s really just a big game for them and they love it.”

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It was a grueling adventure to this point.

Hazel’s journey began in the RCMP’s puppy assessment. Only half of her class passed. From there, she and Trobridge trained every day for a year, about 200 hours in total, on obedience and searching.

“It’s been a lot of fun but a lot of work too,” Trobridge said. “My friends and family joked I spent more time with my dog than I did with them over the last year, which is probably true.”

Though Hazel is the first dog to be out in the wilderness with Nanaimo Search and Rescue, she’s not the only one on the team. She’s joined by half-brother Rory, who was certified a few weeks ago.

Trobridge said they’ll likely stay at two dogs for now.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit