A mountain rescue dog has been trained to wear goggles and fly on helicopters to help find missing people on mountains searches.
Jib, the 18-month-old Border Collie, is Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Teams’ newest recruit.
The brave canine has been trained to wear protective goggles which she proudly poses in, to protect her eyes from debris and strong winds.
Jib has also been trained to become familiar with the loud noises from helicopters and flares, and has practiced being winched in a harness.
Jib, who qualified as a novice rescue dog in March, took her first flight in the helicopter this month with the rescue volunteers.
Jib’s handler and owner, a geologist from Aberdeen, said: “It was great. She had to wear the goggles because of the strong downwash from the S-92 helicopter.
“The goggles protected her eyes and I think she quite liked them.
“Once she was in the aircraft there were no problems and she lay down and it went perfectly. She popped out the helicopter with no difficulty.“
Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Team, a volunteer group, shared a photo on Facebook saying: “Yesterday we properly welcomed “Jib” our newest team member into the team by way of a heli- exercise.
“Jib recently passed her SARDA Scotland novice search dog assessment and she did really well on her first flight.
“Good training day in some pretty heavy snow at times.“
Search and Rescue Dog Association Scotland (SARDA), who trained Jib, is a volunteer organisation that train dogs and their handlers to search for missing persons.
They have around 18 operational search dogs and handlers who put them through their paces on steep mountain terrain and harsh weather conditions.
The pups are also given avalanche training in heavy snow.
Jib’s handler said: “The search is treated like a game for the dogs. We start training them when they’re young and introduce them to find volunteers who go lie down in the mountains.
“When they find they person they get a very special reward, like a toy or a treat.
“It’s all fun and games for the dog and they don’t treat it like a job.
“Rescue dogs are usually playful and energetic in nature.“
