Cornwall Search Dogs is a registered charity based in Cornwall, using trained search dogs and volunteer handlers to help search for missing people and lost dogs.
The charity was set up in 2020 by five founders who were all previous members of Mountain Rescue and Lowland Rescue teams. Two team members were also retired police dog handlers, giving the charity a wealth of experience in search techniques, dog training and practical search work.
Cornwall Search Dogs is built around a simple but powerful idea: dogs have incredible noses. A trained search dog can distinguish between individual scent trails and use that ability to help find one person, or one dog, even in a busy environment full of other scents.
A nose for the trail
Cornwall Search Dogs uses the discipline of mantrailing. This is where a trained dog follows the individual scent trail of a missing person or dog. The dog is given a scent article connected to the missing target, then works on a harness and long line to follow the trail.
You may be familiar with the idea of bloodhounds following a trail in dramas such as Sherlock Holmes. Mantrailing follows the same basic principle in the real world, where dogs use scent to help locate missing people or lost dogs.
To a mantrailing dog, the search is a highly rewarding activity. The dog is trained to discriminate between the scent of the missing human or dog and the many other scents in the local environment, including other people, other dogs and wildlife.
Charity objectives
The objectives of Cornwall Search Dogs are focused on searching for lost people and dogs.
- To relieve the unnecessary suffering of animals by searching for lost dogs.
- To preserve and protect health and save lives by providing a dedicated and trained emergency search service.
- To use appropriately trained dogs and volunteer handlers to assist and support emergency services and voluntary rescue services in the search and rescue of missing persons in Cornwall.
Services
- Searching for lost people
- Searching for lost dogs
- Mantrailing search dog support
- Volunteer search dog handlers
- Search support across Cornwall
What makes Cornwall Search Dogs different?
Cornwall Search Dogs was the first charity to be set up to use trailing dogs to find lost dogs as well as people.
The charity puts specialist scent discrimination training to work by taking search dogs to the last known location of the missing dog or person. The dogs are given a scent article associated with the missing target, then work on a harness and long line so they can follow the trail.
Their dogs have a proven success rate of identifying the correct direction of travel time and time again. Lost dogs can be particularly difficult to track because they may keep moving, run for miles, hide, evade people or be picked up by someone else.
Because the dogs work on a harness and line, they can operate in a wide range of environments, including urban areas, coast paths, woodland, moorland and other locations.
Good to know
- Registered charity number: 1191907
- Established: 2020
- Area covered: Cornwall
- Animals worked with: Dogs
- Availability: 24 hours
- Wheelchair accessibility: Not applicable
- Gift vouchers: No
Cornwall Search Dogs may also be able to share useful advice for pet owners, including what to do if your dog goes missing.
1 Review on “Cornwall Search Dogs”
From the moment she went missing, everyone pulled together.
The amazing Cornwall Search Dog Team joined the search, and had it absolutely spot on in terms of the area she was hiding in, and their insight proved to be key.