Happpy First Birthday to our Newest team member
The newest recruit to Buxton Mountain Rescue Team is just 12 months old but has the 
advantage of four legs and a very sensitive nose.
Isla is a red border collie who had her first birthday on 20th November. She is now the family pet of team member Mark Williams who has been with Buxton MRT for twenty-four years. But Isla is not just a family pet, she is destined to play a very important role in future team activities if she can successfully complete a very intensive training course.
Isla is already a registered trainee search dog with the Search and Rescue Dog Association England (SARDA). The next two years will involve hundreds of hours training for both dog and handler before they pass out as an accredited Search Dog Unit.
Training a mountain rescue search dog is very involved and will take daily sessions as well as working with other search dogs two or three times a week. There will also be regional and national training courses to attend and all with regular assessments. It takes a lot of dedication and time to complete the whole course and Mark and Isla have already attended training sessions in Northumberland, Cleveland, the Yorkshire Dales and South Wales.
Isla’s special birthday present was the successful completion of an Obedience test. Not just your ordinary sit and walk to heel test. This test involved Isla having to stay and wait for over ten minutes ignoring all distractions whilst she patiently waited for her handler to return. Another tricky part of the test was the “Stock Test” which ensures that all SARDA dogs are safe to work around sheep and other livestock.
Passing with flying colours its on to the next stage towards full accreditation when Isla and Mark will join the other SARDA dogs covering the Peak District and always ready to help those lost on our moors.