International Dog Day 2024

In Scotland we are fortunate to have two incredible Search Dog teams, Search & Rescue Dog Association (Scotland) & SARDA Southern Scotland.

On International Dog Day, we would like to highlight the amazing Search Dog Caileag. Caileag started her journey with SARDA Southern Scotland alongside her handler Kirstie in 2015 at the age of one.

She successfully completed her initial assessments in 2016, qualifying as a Search Dog for Lowland Searches later that same year. In 2017, Caileag embraced the challenge of attaining her Mountain Rescue grade, which she accomplished, and the following year, she advanced to the status of Advanced Grade Search Dog.

Caileag took on the role of a devoted search dog for her teams, SARDA Southern Scotland and Arran Mountain Rescue Team. Caileags first call out was a multi-day search for a missing person on the Isle of Arran, searching through the day and night in very challenging terrain.

Kirstie said, “She always gave 100% when out working and provided me with so much confidence, particularly when she had to search for a casualty on her own”.

After 7 years in service, Kirstie recently made the decision to retire Caileag from Search & Rescue. She is still very much enjoying the Mountains, but at a much more leisurely pace.

A huge thank you goes to Caileag for being an extraordinary search dog and for her significant role in saving lives in the great outdoors.