At Loveland Ski Area in Colorado last week, a rescue dog reached an important milestone: their first helicopter ride!
Officials at Loveland posted a celebratory post to Facebook, writing, “Congrats to Otis on his first heli ride! Good boy!”
Avalanche dogs are able to locate people buried under the snow in avalanches, and one patrol dog can search 2.5 acres in around 30 minutes , and can smell a person buried 10-15 feet down.
However, this isn’t dog nature, and even these heroic animals need a little bit of coaching to get them there. Especially for feats such as riding in helicopters!
Naturally, we had to reach out to Otis’ handler, Brendan, to get the 411 on just how avalanche rescue dogs work up to riding in helicopters and saving lives.
How long have you been working with Otis?
I got Otis when he was eight weeks old, and took him to work the very next day. So we have been working together for a little over two years now.
How much training do rescue dogs typically do before riding in a helicopter?