Latest News
Callout - 26th September 2008
A male from a residential home with a recent history of depression was missing from home from 11.00am. At 5.40pm, Jim Macgregor with search dog Star were deployed to search Braddan cemetry and the TT access road due to previous information of his whereabouts. Both areas were cleared as the man was located by police and the team stood down at 6.30pm.
Matt and lola were on standby when the misper was found
Callout - 2nd September 2008
At 20.10 on Tuesday 2nd September, Matt with search dog Lola with Jim with search dog Star were called out to clear the Nobles hospital grounds searching for a vunerable missing person. While being briefed at the police station the person was located by the police and the teams were stood down.
£1000 donation to SARDA IOM
David Fumer, of Peel Charity Shop Trust on the Island, kindly donated £1000 to Isle of Man Search and Resuce dogs alongside 14 other local Manx charities.
The money was raised through the sale of items donated to the shop and through various fundraising events. A huge thank you from everyone in SARDA to the people that helped raise this money that is invaluable to the running of SARDA IOM.
Callout Number 5 (2008)
9th August 2008. DOG FIND = Search Dog Lola
Matt Creer & Search Dog Lola were called out by Police after a high risk misper had been missing overnight.
Working in conjunction with a Police Dog Handler with information supplied by the Police as to a possible search area, both Search Dog Lola and Police Dog Appollo detected the misper after a short time searching.
Both dogs, using their different skills to the same end, meant that the misper, who had fallen into a gorge and was hypothermic could be taken to hospital and given the treatment they urgently required.
This search is an perfect example of inter-agency co-operation and reflects the excellent relationship between the IOM Constabulary and SARDA IOM.
Callout Number 4 (2008)
Jim and Search Dog Star were called out at 2.30am on friday 25th July at the request of the police. This was to look for a missing 12 year child. Areas covered included schools, parks and town squares around Douglas. After all local open areas had been searched, the team were stood down at 4.30am. The child appeared safe and well in the morning.
All agency missing person exercise
Sarda IOM with Jim, search dog Star with Lissa navigating were asked to take part in an all agency exercise to search for a fictious person who was insulin dependant, on Sunday 20th July. The exercise and invite came from Kevin Williams, one of the island's Polsa. The exercise included Police, Coastguard, Civil Defence, Fire and Rescue service and Sarda IOM.
The call was recieved at 12.30 to meet at Sulby Reservoir. The search started at 13.30 after a briefing with Star covering an area through forestry in Tholt-e-Will Plantation. The search continued for 2 hours when the Sarda team then had a 20 minute break. The team then commenced their search for another 3 hours at the top end of Tholt-e-Will unitl Jim decided that the dog needed a longer rest and were stood down by the Police. The search eventually extended to cover Ballaugh Plantation where the casualty was located behind a Wall. It was an excellent exercise which tested the multi-agency approach and allowed Star to work on a longer search and Jim to make use of Lissa as a navigator. It was a valuable experience and a lot was learned.
Thanks goes to the IOM Constabulary and particularly Kev Williams, for inviting SARDA to take part.
Jim and Star covered varied search areas during the excerise from steep plantation, to open areas, buildings, private housing, rivers, dense ferns and open tracks. To see more photos, please see the photo gallery section.
Ballacottier School Faire
Jim with Search Dog Star attended Ballacottier School fete on Saturday 28th June. Jim and Star performed two displays to large crowds.
Jim completes London Marathon
Jim Macgregor completed the London Marathon in a time of 4 hours 49mins 24 secs. Running all the way in a dog suit loaned by SARDA Wales (pictured) encouragement was given by the crowd with renditions of "who let the dogs out?".
The final amount of money raised through "guess the finish time" was £550 which was shared between SARDA Wales & IOM. We are all extremely grateful for the level of support we gain from SARDA Wales with our regular training weekends.
There were 7 winners in the guess the time competition all guessing 4hours 50mins. These were:
Ruth - Meal for 2 at Ciapellis (thanks to Ciapellis and Moore Stephens)
Stephen - £50 Euromanx vouchers (Thanks to Euromanx)
Kirsty - £25 nail voucher (Thanks to Digits)
Ellan - Meal for two at Clinches (Thanks to Clinches & Steve Quinney)
Diane - Kettle and filters (Thanks to Strix)
Daniel & Calum - Both recieving photos of the Isle of Man (Thanks to Lissa Barklie)
Thanks you to everyone who guessed and donated prizes, the money raised will help SARDA greatly.
London Marathon fundraising for SARDA IOM
Jim Macgregor (a geography teacher at St Ninians High School) is aiming to complete his 9th London Marathon but this year with a new challenge. The aim is to run the 26 miles around London on Sunday April 13th in fancy dress.
Jim says “I have done it in strange clothes before and had a good reception off the crowd but this year I aim to go one better. I am running in a fully collie dog suit with orange jacket in aid of the Search and Rescue Dogs IOM (SARDA IOM) charity number 918. I have chosen to run for a different charity each year and this year I plan to raise money for SARDA.”
Jim is a dog handler for SARDA IOM which provides search dogs to support the emergency services in the Isle of Man. The small charity has great expense in training in Snowdonia and assessments so that the dogs can reach a nationally recognised standard.
“Training has been beset by illness this year but if people have noticed a Tasmanian Devil running around the streets of Douglas it will be me. I thought that I had better practise in fancy dress rather than leave it until the marathon.” Says Jim.
Jim is raising money in school where people are asked to donate a £1 to guess the time he will finish in. Local companies have been fantastic in donating prizes. To date we have:
• Your lounge carpet cleaned by Sparkles
• £25 voucher from Digits for a nail session
• £50 Euromanx Voucher
• A kettle and filters from Strix
• A meal for two at Clinches
• A 3 course meal for two house wine & coffee at Ciapellis (Courtesy of Moore Stephens & Ciapellis)
• Two large framed photographs of the Isle of Man by Lissa Barklie.
Sarda IOM with Jim in his Collie dog suit will be at the Strand Shopping Centre from 11am-4pm the Saturday before the marathon on April 5th. The public is also invited to have a guess for £1 with a chance of winning the prizes. Either come down to the Strand Shopping centre on Sat 5th or pop the money in an envelope with your name and address with a guess at the time it will take and hand in to St Ninians High School.
The Charity is always looking for donations or people willing to hide and assist in the training of the dogs. Please email sardaiom@googlemail.com for more information or to volunteer.
Joint training weekend with Lowland Search Dogs Southern: November 2007
Lowland search dogs southern travelled to the Isle of Man for their second visit on 30th November to 3rd December.
Training areas varied from vast open hill land at the back of Windy corner, to Tholt y Will plantation, althought the heavy wind was replaced with even heavier rain! It was brilliant to have the Lowland Search Dogs Southern over and we are planning for next year's visit!
Jim MacGregor & novice search dog Star qualify!
Jim & Star graded to novice search dog status on 11th November 2007 in North Wales.
This now means that they are qualified for call outs all across the Isle of Man and in lowland areas in Wales.
Matt Creer and Search Dog Lola nominated for award.
Matt and Lola have been nominated for a "Vodafone Lifesavers Award" for preventing a woman from committing suicide in November 2006. Matt said "It's really nice to be nominated, but the rescue was a team effort and everyone involved played a part in keeping her alive. I’m very proud of Lola for finding her and it’s nice that SARDA Isle of Man has been recognised for the work we do”
Annual assessments: Snowdonia March 2007
Matt and Lola attended the SARDA Wales assessments in Snowdonia at the end of March. After gruelling assessments, consisting of 5 mountian areas in 3 days, they successfully upgraded to Full Search Dog Status.
Upgraded: Search Dog Lola
Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team Annual Exercise 27th January 2007
We were recently invited to take part in the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team annual exercise. This involved 74 rescuers from 3 MRTs and 5 dogs, 4 from SARDA England and 1 from SARDA Isle of Man (Lola).
Please see the Photo Gallery for pictures from the weekend
Lola's first find!! 6th November 2006
Lola made a life saving find on the evening of Monday the 6th November. This was her first live find and it is clear that had she not located the misper when she did that the outcome would have been a tragic one. We are all very proud of her. Follow this link for details
Harold Burrows visits the Island 4th - 5th November
NSARDA Chairman Harold Burrows and his wife Jean visited the Island on the weekend of the 4th - 5th November. Being his first visit to the IOM the weekend involved a combination of training with Matt and Jim and travelling around the Island to see the sorts of terrain we are working in. A good time was had by all and we hope to welcome him back in the future.
Joint Training Weekend with Lowland Search Dogs Southern: October 2006
LSDogs Handlers and Supports travelled to the IOM for a weekend of joint training. The weekend was a great experience for all involved and weather was relatively kind to us.
We were called to a missing person search on the Sunday afternoon (see latest callouts page for details) and LSDogs Southern deployed alongside us, allowing us to clear the search area much more quickly than one dog could manage.
It was great to be able to work together and we are looking forward to making their IOM visit an annual event.
Photos from the weekend will be posted on the photo gallery page in the next few days.
August 2006: Search Dog Flash Grades!
Lola's sister Flash and Handler David Watt succesfully completed their gruelling assessments in August to become a Search Dog Team in SARDA Lakes.
Flash is David's 3rd Search Dog and now works alongside Dynamite, David's 2nd dog who is still working.
Congratulations to David and Flash (Pictured below with Body Louise)
April 2006
SARDA IOM visit Lowland Search Dogs Southern
Lowland Search Dogs Southern invited Matt and Lola to attend a training day at Coldeast Hospital in Southampton, Hampshire, to observe their National Urban Search & Rescue Dog Group (NUSARDG) dogs being put through their paces with some very impressive building searching.
Matt said "It was fascinating to watch, as building search is not a discipline we train in. It was great to see these dogs working with such enthusiasm and skill"
Thanks to all in LSD Southern for making them both feel so welcome.
Matt & Lola with (left to right) Cynthia & Carraigh, Vanessa & Zoe, Paul & Sam, Rosie & Teaghan and Yvette & Bramble.
Visit the LSD - Southern website
January 2006
Lola and Matt pass Grade 3 Assessment.
Lola and Matt travelled to Keswick in the Lake District to attend the SARDA England assessments. They came home having been awarded level 3 Search Dog status by assessors Harold Burrows MBE (SARDA Wales) and Dave Marsh (SARDA England).
Achieving Grade 3 means that they are now a graded team and have made history by being the first dog/handler team to be qualified and operational in the Isle of Man.
Within 6 hours of returning to the Island they had received their first callout.
Pictured left to right; Dave, Matt and Harold, with dogs (left to right); Sniff, Chi, Lola and Sam.
|
