No chopper too big, no pup too small: Rescue dogs take to the skies for helicopter training

Riding a helicopter above B.C.'s alpine terrain doesn't faze Rory. In fact,the American field Labrador gets surprisingly bored.

"He just sits there," said Janet Rygnestad, Rory's handler and a search-and-rescue volunteer."I don't normally muzzle him because he's a pretty mellow dog."

Rorywas one of 18 RCMP-certified search-and-rescue dogs that attended a helicopter training session with the associationjust south of Kamloops, B.C., last Monday, along with 26 rescue crew volunteers.

The training adds to the skillset of search-and-rescue dogs, which are employed in some of the hardest-to-reach places in B.C. This year, they've been used in 40 searches provincewide so far.

To get to remote search sites, they often catch a ridein a chopper.

But flying in a helicopter doesn't come naturally for most dogs. There's the thunderous whirring of the blades, for one, plus the dizzying heights.

Noise and motion

The association trains dogs of all ages from six-month-old pups to 10-year veterans twice a year, in the spring and fall.

The sessionsare meant to get them accustomed to all the noise and motion. The dogs also have to learn how to get in and out of the helicopter quickly.

At the training session,Rory sported somegoggles to protect his eyes from debris thrown up by the helicopter.

"It means Ihave an extra hand free because I don't have to put it over his face," said Rygnestad, noting that Rory has done up to 30 searches.

She added: "It's pretty awesome to bring your dog to work."

With files from Doug HerbertandDaybreak Kamloops

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