Yahoo News Fire Search and Rescue dog gets Guard of Honour on retirement
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service's first full time search and rescue dog has been given a guard of honour after her retirement.
Seven-year-old Belgian Malinois Frankie became the first ever of the breed to be assigned as an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) dog in 2018, after Dogs Trust brought her from Ireland, where she had been living as a stray. Over the past six years, she has developed a "formidable" partnership with her handler Steve Carr.
Training has left her ready to assist on everything from finding trapped casualties in buildings, to searches for missing persons. To mark her retirement, Frankie was honoured with a special certificate featuring a montage of her achievements at the fire service's headquarters in Washington on Thursday, May 30.
Watch manager Steve described his working bond with Frankie as humbling, unbreakable, unconditional and respectful. Steve said: "Frankie has always been one of the most important tools in our USAR armoury, as she can find and indicate the location of a casualty in minutes.
"This is something that could potentially take the team hours, if not days, if the person was unconscious, unresponsive or even entombed."
He continued: "Frankie's role has been imperative to firefighter safety, as she can navigate rubble and collapsed structures without causing the potential of secondary collapse endangering firefighters and the trapped casualties. Over the past six years, I have loved every minute of my time with Frankie.
"There has been some blood, sweat, tears and tantrums, but it has all been worth it. I will miss Frankie being by my side."
Stewart Nicholson, deputy chief fire officer, said: "One of the most important elements of the fire service is teamwork, especially in some of the most hazardous environments our USAR team encounters. Over the past six years, Frankie has played an important role in that team, and her specialist skills have always been second to none.
"Watch Manager Carr and Frankie have developed a formidable partnership that has been a credit to TWFRS. We all wish Frankie a happy and healthy retirement."
Frankie is expected to relax and enjoy her retirement alongside doggie pal Merlin, who will be taking over her full-time Urban Search and Rescue baton at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. Though she is retiring from duty, she'll still be visiting her human colleagues at the station from time to time.
