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Going to the dogs

Fundraisers, demonstrations highlight importance of CARDA dogs

A typical dog’s nose is about 100 times more sensitive to smells than a human nose, and can pick out faint scents even when overwhelmed by hundreds of other competing smells.

Their sense of hearing is also between two and five times more sensitive than a human’s, picking up fainter sounds and higher-pitched tones.

Those highly developed senses, given the proper training, are used to sniff out drugs and explosives at airports and rescue people and find bodies after natural disasters. In the mountains, dogs can speed up rescue efforts in the event that someone is lost or buried in the backcountry.

A few years ago a dog was instrumental in the rescue of a skier in Fernie when a slide occurred with a dog team in the area. It was the first time in Canada a dog had been used to locate a live avalanche victim, but if the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association has anything to say about it, it won’t be the last.

There are about 50 dogs in Canada that have been certified by the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association, including 15 in the Whistler region. Every year those dogs, which are trained to be avalanche dogs for the first two years of their lives, have to be re-certified by the RCMP.

This year the certification course, as well as various training courses, will be taking place on Whistler Mountain from Jan. 8 to 13. Teams from Canada, the U.S. and possibly Germany will be attending. Members of the public will be welcome to watch, but are asked to keep their distance so they don’t disturb the dogs and handlers while they’re in training or taking their tests.

A fundraiser and silent auction for CARDA is planned for Jan. 13 at Moe Joe’s, and raffle tickets will be sold for a larger draw that will take place in March.

According to Leslie Garbutt, a certified avalanche rescue dog owner, and one of the organizers of the training week and fundraiser, CARDA hopes to raise $37,000 between now and March. That money could make a difference in how quickly dog teams can respond to avalanches and search for lost skiers and snowboarders.

"All of the money will go to training, expenses, equipment costs," said Garbutt. "Right now we don’t have uniforms or anything, we’re still using old pagers and things. Our communication could really be improved – the faster we can get out there, the better the chances for survival."

With backcountry users using better gear, including devices that let them breathe under the snow without suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, people can last for an hour or more under the snow.

Right now it could take that long to get a dog team to the backcountry, but with better equipment and communication, Garbutt says that time could be reduced significantly. There are usually dogs on Whistler and Blackcomb to handle in-bounds avalanches, although Garbutt’s dog Nilla is currently the only CARDA qualified dog.

Nilla has been used to find people who went missing out of bounds, and to investigate slides that occurred overnight in different areas to ensure that nobody was trapped underneath. If someone was caught in a tree well, Nilla would also make the search easier.

"We get calls all the time," said Garbutt.

More technical uniforms are needed because searchers need to be prepared to endure the worst alpine weather and even to work overnight.

The dogs are also expensive to feed, train, and care for, and all of those expenses are currently covered by the dog handlers. Some expenses could be classified as business expenses under tax laws, but Garbutt has been hesitant to do so until she gets confirmation from Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

The training is also extensive, with dogs and their handlers attending three courses in the first two years, as well as the certifications.

"It’s really exhausting, I couldn’t imagine doing this and having kids. It takes a lot of time and money, but it can be rewarding as well," said Garbutt.

Garbutt says she’s fascinated by the dogs, and how acute their sense of smell and hearing really is. Last week she said she threw a T-shirt into a tree instead of burying it underground, trying to fool Nilla, who has been trained to search on the ground.

"Sure enough she went right to the tree, sat there and barked. She couldn’t see the T-shirt where it was, but she knew it was there. It blows my mind, how they do that. That’s part of the reason I’m doing this, I just find the whole thing so fascinating," she said.

To be certified, the dog has to pass an obedience test, the dog handler has to pass a skiing test and hold various certifications, and the team has to locate three buried targets in a given area within 45 minutes.

CARDA holds certification events in Whistler and other communities on a regular basis, but dog teams and handlers can also take the certification test through the RCMP.

"I’ve found it’s best to come to the CARDA course because you learn so much, but because people are spread out all over B.C. and Alberta and elsewhere and you have to be validated every year, it’s hard to get to the course," explained Garbutt.

Twenty dogs and possibly more are expected in Whistler from Jan. 8 to 13, and all of the tests and training sessions will happen around Whistler Mountain.

The Whistler CARDA fundraiser will take place on Jan. 13 at Moe Joe’s, starting at 8 p.m. The theme is Doggy Style, and there will be a prize for best costume.

Admission is by a $5 donation, which will include tickets to a draw taking place in March.

Some of the silent auction items up for bid include:

• A morning with the Dawn Patrol, Whistler-Blackcomb’s avalanche control team

• Arc’teryx jacket

• Whistler Heli Ski trip for one

• Rossignol B3’s

• Two seats with Powder Mountain Cat Skiing

• Reserved parking space at Base II

• Tandem Paragliding

• Canadian Snowmobile Adventure trip for two

• Whistler-Blackcomb five day Edge Pass

• A ride with the Whistler-Blackcomb groomers

• Blackcomb Helicopters air time

plus dozens of other prizes.

The March prize draw includes a Mike Wiegele Oktoberfest package for two in Blue River, two nights and two days for two at Silver Star Mountain, and a Canadian Voyageur Canoe Trip for two.

The Outdoor Life Network is also challenging anyone to match a $10,000 donation to CARDA. OLN will be here filming 10 half hour shows on rescue dogs.