Retiring mountain rescue dog hangs up harness

Skip image gallery
  1. A brown, black and white border collie called Tarn. Tarn looks up at the camera with her mouth open and tongue hanging out and she wears a mountain rescue orange coat for dogs. She is standing on a green patch of grass.
    TWSMRT

    Tarn, who has retired, helped with mountain rescue since 2020

A retiring search and rescue dog who helped in more than 70 callouts over five years has been praised, as she finally hangs up her harness.

Tarn, a tri-colour border collie, joined Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team (TWSMRT) in 2020 and "dedicated her life to helping others".

The group said Tarn had been out in all conditions in the North East and the Lake District "training relentlessly" and her talents involved searching for people and fellow dogs.

Volunteers said the search dog's "legacy, loyalty, and nose for adventure" would be remembered.

Tarn lives with Mike Needham, a dog handler and deputy team leader, and his family in County Durham.

He said: "At lot people assume dog handling is similar to the police, but because we are volunteers, the dogs are pets first, working dogs second and selected by their prospected handlers," he said.

A dog called Tarn, who is a tri-colour border collie, wears a mountain rescue bright orange coat. She is sitting in snow and is covered in frost and snow particles.MIKE NEEDHAM

Tarn during a rescue in Storm Arwen in 2021

One rescue he remembers was during Storm Arwen in 2021.

"Myself, Tarn and another volunteer were tasked to find five missing persons in a car that was stuck in the snow in Westgate.

"We went to look for the car in 80mph winds and successfully located them."

Eira is a black-and-white border collie who stands atop of a fell with rocky crags in the background. She has large ears, a white chest and wears a red collar.MIKE NEEDHAM

Eira is due to become operational on the team by 2027

Mr Needham said he has started training a second dog, called Eira, who is 20-months-old.

The black-and-white border collie is due to join operations by 2027.

Follow BBC North East on X and Facebook and BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram.

Get in touch

Do you have a story suggestion for BBC North East & Cumbria?

Contact form

Related topics

More like this

Related internet links