One man and his rescue dog

Jan 5 2009 by Katie Campling, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

One man and his dog

WHILE most people partied the night away on New Year’s Eve, Wayne Thackray and his dog Dodge were on call.

The pair were ready for their next search and rescue mission.

Being a search dog handler for Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team is a 24 hour job – Mr Thackray can be called from his Crosland Moor home to any place at any time.

He and three-year-old Dodge are one of 27 dog and handler teams in the country.

They are certainly kept busy – the Search and Rescue Dog Association received 167 call outs this year, resulting in 37 people being found safe and well.

Mr Thackray and Dodge became a qualified team on October 5, when they ‘graded’ after a tough two-year training programme.

Mr Thackray said: “I was really champing at the bit. It’s like being a soldier. You train to do a job and you want to get out there and do it.”

He was not disappointed. After his first call out on October 28, he has been incredibly busy, attending 16 call outs plus five other rescue missions without Dodge, as an ordinary member of Hepworth-based Woodhead MRT.

Mr Thackray said: “It was really, really quiet at first. But since the first job, it has been incredibly busy. We have an increased commitment as dog handlers, because we are a national resource. We can be called out any time, to anywhere.

“In the Woodhead team we would expect to have an average of 20 or 30 team call outs a year. So the fact that I’ve been on 16 is quite unusual.”